CN114128053A

CN114128053A - High-density high-speed electric connector

Info

Publication number: CN114128053A
Application number: CN202080051739.9A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 马克·B·卡蒂埃; 约翰·罗伯特·邓纳姆; 马克·W·盖尔卢斯; 约翰·皮滕
Original assignee: Amphenol Corp
Current assignee: Amphenol Corp
Priority date: 2019-05-20
Filing date: 2020-05-19
Publication date: 2022-03-01
Also published as: US20200373689A1; US11742601B2; EP3973597A4; TW202109986A; US11289830B2; WO2020236794A1; US20240097360A1; US20220173534A1; EP3973597A1

Abstract

A modular high-speed high-density electrical connector is configurable for use in a variety of configurations, including a direct-attach orthogonal configuration. The connector is assembled with a module that includes shielded pairs of signal conductors having mating ends that are rotated approximately 45 degrees relative to the middle portions of the signal conductors. The connectors may have mating interfaces with a receptacle in one connector and a pin in a mating connector. The prongs may be small in diameter and may be implemented with superelastic wires to resist damage despite having a very small effective diameter. The compact mating interface created by the small diameter mating contacts may allow other portions of the connector, including the shield surrounding the signal conductors, to be smaller, which may increase the resonant frequency of the connector and extend its bandwidth.

Description

High-density high-speed electric connector

Background

The present application relates generally to interconnect systems for interconnecting electronic components, such as interconnect systems including electrical connectors.

Electrical connectors are used in many electronic systems. It is generally easier and more cost effective to manufacture the system as a separate electronic component, such as a printed circuit board ("PCB"), that can be joined together with an electrical connector. A known arrangement for joining some printed circuit boards is to have one printed circuit board that serves as a backplane. Other printed circuit boards, known as "daughter boards" or "daughter cards," may be connected through the backplane.

Known backplanes are printed circuit boards on which a number of connectors may be mounted. The conductive traces in the backplane may be electrically connected to signal conductors in the connectors so that signals may be routed between the connectors. The daughter card may also have a connector mounted thereon. A connector mounted on a daughter card may be inserted into a connector mounted on a backplane. In this manner, signals may be routed between daughter cards through the backplane. Daughter cards may be inserted into the backplane at right angles. Accordingly, connectors for these applications may include right angle bends and are commonly referred to as "right angle connectors".

The connector may also be used in other configurations for interconnecting printed circuit boards. Some systems use a midplane configuration. Similar to the backplane, the midplane has connectors mounted on one surface that are interconnected by routing channels within the midplane. The midplane additionally has connectors mounted on the second side such that daughter cards are inserted into both sides of the midplane.

Daughter cards inserted from opposite sides of the midplane typically have orthogonal orientations. This orientation positions one edge of each printed circuit board adjacent to the edge of each board inserted into the opposite side of the midplane. The traces within the midplane connecting the boards on one side of the midplane to the boards on the other side of the midplane may be short to achieve the desired signal integrity characteristics.

A variation of the midplane configuration is referred to as "direct attachment". In this configuration, daughter cards are inserted from opposite sides of the system. The plates are also orthogonally oriented such that the edge of a plate inserted from one side of the system is adjacent to the edge of a plate inserted from the opposite side of the system. These daughter cards also have connectors. However, rather than plugging into a connector on the midplane, the connectors on each daughter card are plugged directly into connectors on printed circuit boards plugged from opposite sides of the system.

This configuration of connectors is sometimes referred to as a quadrature connector. Examples of orthogonal connectors are shown in us patents 7354274, 7331830, 8678860, 8057267 and 8251745.

Disclosure of Invention

Embodiments of high-density, high-speed electrical connectors and associated modules and assemblies are described. According to some embodiments, a connector module may include a pair of signal conductors including a pair of mating ends, a pair of contact tails, and a pair of intermediate portions connecting the pair of mating ends to the pair of contact tails, the pair of mating ends being elongated in a direction at right angles to a direction in which the pair of contact tails are elongated, the mating ends of the pair of mating ends being separated in a direction of a first line, the intermediate portions of the pair of intermediate portions being separated in a direction of a second line, and the first line being disposed at an angle greater than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees with respect to the second line.

According to some embodiments, the wafer may include a plurality of signal conductor pairs, each signal conductor pair including a pair of mating ends, a pair of contact tails, and a pair of middle portions connecting the pair of mating ends to the pair of contact tails, the pair of mating ends of the plurality of signal conductor pairs being positioned in a column along a column direction, the middle portions of the pair of middle portions of the plurality of signal conductor pairs being aligned in a direction perpendicular to the column direction and positioned for broadside coupling, and the mating ends of the plurality of signal conductor pairs being separated along a line disposed at an angle greater than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees with respect to the column direction.

According to some embodiments, a connector may include a plurality of signal conductor pairs, wherein for each of the plurality of signal conductor pairs, the signal conductor pair includes a pair of mating ends, a pair of contact tails, and a pair of intermediate portions connecting the pair of mating ends to the pair of contact tails, the signal conductor pair further includes a transition region between the pair of mating ends and the pair of intermediate portions, the pair of mating ends of the plurality of signal conductor pairs are disposed in an array including a plurality of rows extending along a row direction and spaced apart from each other in a column direction perpendicular to the row direction, the pair of mating ends of the plurality of signal conductor pairs are aligned along a first parallel line disposed at an angle greater than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees relative to the row direction, and for each of the plurality of signal conductor pairs, within the transition region, the relative positions of the signal conductors of the signal conductor pair vary, such that at a first end of the transition region adjacent the mating end, the signal conductors are aligned along lines of a first parallel line and at a second end of the transition region, the signal conductors are aligned in the row direction.

According to some embodiments, a connector module may include an insulative member and a pair of signal conductors retained by the insulative member, each of the pair of signal conductors including a first portion at a first end, a second portion at a second end extending from the insulative portion, and an intermediate portion disposed between the first and second ends, and the first portion including a wire having a diameter between 5 and 20 mils.

According to some embodiments, the extender module may include a pair of signal conductors, each of the pair of signal conductors including a first portion at a first end and a second portion at a second end, the first portions of the pair of signal conductors configured to mate and be positioned along a first line, and an electromagnetic shield at least partially surrounding the pair of signal conductors, the second portions of the pair of signal conductors configured to compress and be positioned along a second line parallel to the first line when inserted into the hole.

According to some embodiments, a connector may include an insulative portion, a plurality of signal conductors held by the insulative portion, the plurality of signal conductors including elongated mating portions extending from the insulative portion, the plurality of signal conductors including a plurality of pairs of signal conductors disposed in a plurality of rows extending in a row direction, the plurality of shield members at least partially surrounding the pairs of pairs, and the mating portions of the pairs separated along a first parallel line disposed at a 45 degree angle relative to the row direction.

Drawings

The drawings are not intended to be drawn to scale. In the drawings, each identical or nearly identical component that is illustrated in various figures may be represented by a like numeral. For purposes of clarity, not every component may be labeled in every drawing. In the drawings:

fig. 1 is a perspective view of a mated direct-attach orthogonal connector according to some embodiments;

fig. 2A is a perspective view of the electrical connector 102A with extender module of fig. 1;

fig. 2B is a perspective view of the electrical connector 102B of fig. 1;

fig. 3A is a front view of an electrical connector having an extender module assembly according to an alternative embodiment;

fig. 3B is a front view of an electrical connector configured to mate with the connector of fig. 3A;

fig. 3C is a front view of an electrical connector having an extender module assembly according to another alternative embodiment;

fig. 3D is a front view of an electrical connector configured to mate with the connector of fig. 3C;

FIG. 4 is a partially exploded view of the electrical connector 102a of FIG. 1;

fig. 5 is a perspective view of the electrical connector 102a of fig. 4 with a single extender module;

fig. 6 is an exploded view of the electrical connector 102b of fig. 1;

fig. 7 is a partial exploded view of an electrical connector with a front housing removed and a compliant shield member according to some embodiments;

fig. 8 is a plan view of a portion of a printed circuit board showing routing channels in a footprint (footprint) for mounting an electrical connector, in accordance with some embodiments;

fig. 9A is a perspective view of the electrical connector 102 of fig. 7 with the front housing cut away and with a retaining member, in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 9B is a perspective view of the first retaining member 180 of FIG. 9A;

FIG. 9C is an alternative perspective view of the retaining member 180 of FIG. 9B;

FIG. 10A is a perspective view of the wafer 130 of the electrical connector 102 shown in FIG. 7;

FIG. 10B is a perspective view of the sheet 130 of FIG. 10A with the sheet housing member 133B cut away;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the housing member 133a of the sheet 130 of FIG. 10A and one connector module 200;

fig. 12A is a side view of the connector module 200 of fig. 11;

fig. 12B is a perspective view of the connector module 200 of fig. 11;

fig. 12C is an alternative perspective view of the connector module 200 of fig. 11;

fig. 13A is a side view of the connector module 200 with the electromagnetic shield 210 of fig. 11 cut away;

fig. 13B is a perspective view of the connector module 200 of fig. 13A;

fig. 13C is an alternative side view of the connector module 200 of fig. 13A;

fig. 14A is a side view of the connector module 200 with the electromagnetic shield 210 and the outer insulating members 180a and 180b of fig. 11 cut away;

fig. 14B is a perspective view of the connector module 200 of fig. 14A;

fig. 14C is an alternative side view of the connector module 200 of fig. 14A;

fig. 15 is a perspective view of the inner insulating member 230 of the connector module 200 of fig. 14A-14C;

fig. 16A is a side view of the

signal conductors

260a and 260b of the connector module 200 of fig. 14A-14C;

fig. 16B is a perspective view of the signal conductors 260a and 260B of fig. 16A;

fig. 16C is an alternative side view of the

signal conductors

260a and 260b of fig. 16A;

fig. 17A is a perspective view of the connector module 200 of fig. 11 with the extender module 300 of fig. 5;

fig. 17B is a perspective view of the connector module 200 and extender module 300 with the electromagnetic shields 210a and 210B of fig. 17A cut away;

fig. 17C is a perspective view of the signal conductors 260 of the extender module and connector module 200 of fig. 17C;

fig. 18A is a perspective view of the extender module 300 of fig. 5;

fig. 18B is a side view of the extender module 300 of fig. 18A;

fig. 18C is an alternative side view of the extender module 300 of fig. 18A;

fig. 19A is a side view of the extender module 300 of fig. 18A, with the

electromagnetic shields

310a and 310b cut away from the extender module;

FIG. 19B is a side view of the extender module of FIG. 19A;

fig. 20A is a side view of the

signal conductors

302a and 302b of the extender module 300 of fig. 18A;

fig. 20B is an alternative side view of the signal conductors 302a and 302B of fig. 20A;

FIG. 21A is a perspective view of the header connector;

fig. 21B is a perspective view of a connector module of the header connector of fig. 21A;

fig. 22 is a perspective view of an alternative configuration of connectors, with some connector modules configured for attachment to a printed circuit board and other connector modules terminated to cables; and

fig. 23 is a perspective view of signal conductors of an alternative embodiment of a pair of signal conductors.

Detailed Description

The inventors have developed a technique for manufacturing an electrical connector which is used for high-speed signals and has high density and can be manufactured at low cost. These techniques include arrangements of mating interfaces that simply support multiple configurations, including right angle or direct mating orthogonal system configurations or system configurations with cable connections to midplane components. The configuration may also provide a signal path with low mode conversion and reduce other electrical effects that may affect signal integrity.

The inventors have recognized and appreciated that: electrical connectors having angled mating interfaces (e.g., having mating ends of pairs of signal conductors twisted relative to intermediate portions of the signal conductors) provide enhanced flexibility in making connections between connectors having direct-mate orthogonal backplanes or other configurations. Such an angled mating interface may be formed, for example, in a connector in which the signal conductors are routed in pairs, the mating ends of a pair being separated along a first line, and the intermediate portions of the pair being separated along a second line that is at an angle greater than 0 degrees but less than 90 degrees relative to the first line. Two connectors with similar angled interfaces may be used as part of a direct-mate orthogonal connector system. Such connectors may be mated by extender modules having through signal paths that are easy to manufacture. Due to this use of similar or even identical connectors mated by a simple extender module, the cost of the interconnect system may be low.

In some embodiments, the angled interfaces of two mating connectors may be at the same angle relative to a normal to the mating faces of the connectors. In some embodiments, the angles of the two mating connectors may be of the same magnitude, but may be in opposite directions. The specific angle and orientation of each connector may depend on the system configuration. As a specific example, for connectors designed for direct mating orthogonal configurations, the mating connectors may all have mating interfaces that are angled 45 degrees in a clockwise direction. For a parallel plate configuration, the mating connectors may all have mating interfaces that are angled at 45 degrees, but in one direction, the angle may be in a clockwise direction, while in other connectors, the mating interfaces may be angled in a counterclockwise direction. These angles may be described as 45 degrees and 135 degrees, respectively, where the angles of both connectors are measured in a clockwise direction.

The interconnect system as described herein may provide high signal integrity as mode transitions may be low due to the constraint of twist in the paired signal paths to less than 90 degrees. The inventors have also recognized and appreciated that: using a connector with an angled mating interface reduces the amount of angular twist of the conductors of the signal pair on the signal path, which results in a lower rate of angular twist. Reducing the angular twist rate improves the integrity of the signals carried by the connector system by reducing the offset and/or mode conversion associated with twisting, even in small connectors. In some embodiments, the angular twist rate produced in at least one transition region may be about 45 degrees/1.5 mm or less, which may provide low mode conversion in the transition region. In some embodiments, the angular twist rate in the transition region between the intermediate portion of the signal conductor, which may be aligned broadside-to-broadside, and the mating interface portion of the signal conductor may be, for example, in the range of 45 degrees/mm to 90 degrees/mm or 45 degrees/mm to 80 degrees/mm.

The angled interface may also enable a simple design of extender modules that may be attached to the connector to change the position, orientation, or mating contact type of the mating interface of the connector. Such extender module designs allow for a single type of connector to be used on both sides of the interconnect system, with the extender module providing an interface between the connectors. The extender module may have signal conductors passing through the module without twisting, which enables the extender module to be substantially enclosed by a shield formed from one or a small number of metal sheets that may be cut and folded to partially or completely surround the module.

These techniques also include the use of thin signal conductors in portions of the connector, such as in the mating interface and/or the mounting interface. Thus, a ground conductor, such as may be used to provide shielding around a signal conductor or pair of signal conductors, may define a small cavity containing the signal conductor or pair of signal conductors. Due to the small cavity, resonances that may interfere with the high integrity operation of the connector occur at high frequencies, which may be outside the desired operating frequency range of the connector. In some embodiments, the ground conductors surrounding the signal pairs may define a cavity having a rectangular cross-section, and the longer dimension of the cavity may be reduced to increase the frequency of the lowest frequency resonance supported by the cavity. In some embodiments, the thin signal conductors may be implemented with a superelastic conductive material. At least the mating contact portions of the signal conductors may be formed from a superelastic conductive material, such as a superelastic wire, which may have a small diameter but suitable mechanical integrity.

The inventors have recognized and appreciated that: the shape and location of the features in the electromagnetic shield, including the near mating ends of the signal conductor pairs, may reduce impedance discontinuities associated with variability in spacing between the mating connectors. Such features may include inward projecting portions of the shield adjacent the mating end.

These techniques may be used alone or together in any suitable combination. Due to the improved electrical characteristics achieved by these techniques, the electrical connectors described herein may be configured to operate at high bandwidths to achieve high data transmission rates. For example, the electrical connectors described herein may operate at 40GHz or above and may have a bandwidth of at least 50GHz, such as a frequency up to and including 56GHz and/or a bandwidth in the range of 50GHz to 60 GHz. For example, such electrical connectors may transfer data at rates up to 112 Gb/s.

Turning to the figures, fig. 1 and 2A-2B illustrate electrical connectors of an electrical interconnection system according to some embodiments. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an electrical interconnection system 100 including first and second mating connectors, here configured to directly attach

orthogonal connectors

102a and 102 b. Fig. 2A is a perspective view of the electrical connector 102A, and fig. 2B is a perspective view of the electrical connector 102B, showing the mating and mounting interfaces of those connectors. In the illustrated embodiment, the mating interfaces are complementary such that connector 102a mates with connector 102 b. In the illustrated embodiment, the mounting interfaces are similar in that each mounting interface includes an array of press-fit contact tails configured for mounting to a printed circuit board.

Similar techniques and materials may be used to fabricate the

electrical connectors

102a and 102 b. For example, the

electrical connectors

102a and 102b may include substantially identical wafers 130.

Electrical connectors

102a and 102b having wafers 130 that can be manufactured and/or assembled in the same process can have low manufacturing costs.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 1, the first connector 102a includes a first sheet 130a, the first sheet 130a including one or more individual sheets 130 positioned side-by-side. The sheets 130 are described herein, including the sheet 130 described with reference to FIG. 10A. It is further described herein, including described with reference to fig. 10B, that the sheet 130 includes one or more connector modules 200.

The wafer 130 also includes a wafer housing 132a that holds the connector modules 200. The wafers are held together side-by-side such that the contact tails extending from the wafers 130 of the first connector 102a form a first array of contact tails 136 a. The contact tails of the first contact tail array 136a may be configured for mounting to a substrate, such as the substrate 104c described in connection with fig. 3A. For example, the first contact tail array 136 may be configured for press-fit insertion, solder mounting, or any other mounting configuration for mounting to conductors within a printed circuit board or cable.

In the illustrated embodiment, further described herein, including described with reference to fig. 2A, the first connector 102A includes an extender housing 120, with an extender module 300 within the extender housing 120. In the illustrated embodiment, the first connector 102a includes signal conductors having contact tails that form part of a first array of contact tails 136 a. The signal conductors have intermediate portions joining the contact tails to the mating ends. In the illustrated embodiment, the mating end is configured to mate with additional signal conductors in the extender module 300. The signal conductors in the extender module 300 also have mating ends that form the mating interface of the connector 102A seen in fig. 2A. Ground conductors similarly extend from the wafer 130a, through the extender module 300, to the mating interface of the connector 102A seen in fig. 2A.

The second connector 102b includes a second wafer 130b, the second wafer 130b including one or more wafers 130 positioned side-by-side. The sheets 130 of the second sheet 130b may be configured as described for the first sheet 130 a. For example, the sheet 130 of the second sheet 130b has a sheet housing 132 b. Additionally, a second array of contact tails 136b for the second connector 102b is formed from the contact tails of the conductive elements within the second sheet 130 b. As with the first contact tail array 136a, the second contact tail array 136b may be configured for press-fit insertion, solder mounting, or any other mounting configuration for mounting to conductors within a printed circuit board or cable.

As shown in fig. 1, the first contact tail array 136a faces a first direction, and the second contact tail array 136b faces a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. Thus, when the first contact tail array 136a is mounted to a first substrate (e.g., a printed circuit board) and the second contact tail array 136b is mounted to the substrate 104d, the surface of the first substrate and the surface of the second substrate may be perpendicular to each other. In addition, the first connector 102a and the second connector 102b are mated along a third direction perpendicular to each of the first direction and the second direction. During the process of mating the first connector 102a with the second connector 102b, one or both of the first connector 102a and the second connector 102b move toward the other connector in the third direction.

It should be understood that although the first and second

electrical connectors

102a, 102b are shown in fig. 1 in a direct-attach orthogonal configuration, the connectors described herein may be adapted to other configurations. For example, the connectors shown in fig. 3C-3D have mating interfaces that are angled in opposite directions and may be used in a co-planar configuration. Figure 21 illustrates that the construction techniques as described herein may be used in a backplane, midplane, or mezzanine configuration. However, the use of a mating interface in a board-to-board configuration is not required. Fig. 22 shows: some or all of the signal conductors within the connector may be terminated to a cable, creating a cable connector or a hybrid cable connector. Other configurations are also possible.

As shown in fig. 2A, the first electrical connector 102A further includes an extender module 300, the extender module 300 providing a mating interface for the first connector 102A. For example, the mating portions of the extender module 300 form the first mating end array 134 a. Additionally, extender modules 300 may be mounted to the connector modules 200 of the first sheet 130a, as further described herein, including described with reference to fig. 17A. The extender housing 120 holds the extender module 300 around at least a portion of the extender module 300. Here, the extender housing 120 surrounds the mating interface and includes a recess 122 for receiving the second connector 102 b. As described herein, including with reference to fig. 4, the extender housing 120 also includes an aperture through which the extender module 300 extends.

As shown in fig. 2B, the second electrical connector 102B has a front housing 110B shaped to fit within an opening in the extender housing 120. As further described herein, including described with reference to fig. 6, the second sheet 130b is attached to the front housing 110 b.

The front housing 110b provides a mating interface for the second connector 102 b. For example, the front housing 110b includes a tab 112, the tab 112 configured to be received in a groove of the extender housing 120. The mating ends of the signal conductors of the wafer 130b are exposed within the apertures 114b of the front housing 110b forming a second mating end array 134b such that the mating ends can engage the signal conductors of the wafer 130a of the first connector 102 a. For example, the extender module 300 extends from the first connector 102a and may be received by the pairs of signal conductors of the second connector 102 b. The ground conductors of the sheet 130b are similarly exposed within the apertures 114b and may similarly mate with ground conductors in the extender module 300, which in turn are connected to ground conductors in the sheet 130 a.

In fig. 2A-2B, the first connector 102A is configured to receive the second connector 102B. As shown, the recess 122 of the extender housing 120 is configured to receive the protrusion of the front housing 110 b. In addition, the aperture 114b is configured to receive a mating portion of the extender module 300.

It should be understood that in some embodiments, the second sheet 130a of the first connector 102a and the second sheet 130b of the second connector 102b may be substantially identical. For example, the first connector 102a may include a front housing 110a, which front housing 110a may receive wafers from one side and may be configured similarly to a corresponding side of front housing 110 b. The opposite side of front housing 110a may be configured for attachment to extender housing 120 such that front housing 110a is disposed between first sheet 130a and extender housing 120. The front housing 110a is further described herein, including the front housing 110a further described with reference to fig. 4.

The front housing 110b may be configured to mate with the extender housing 120. In some embodiments, the extender housing 120 may be configured to: such that the features of the possible latch-to features may slide in and out if inserted into one side of the extender housing 120 to support a separable fit if the features of the possible latch-to features are inserted into the opposite side of the extender housing 120. In such a configuration, the same component may be used for the front case 110a or the front case 110 b. The inventors have recognized and appreciated that: the use of extender modules to interface between the same connectors allows for the manufacture of a single type of connector to be used on each side of the electrical interconnection system, thereby reducing the cost of producing the electrical interconnection system. Even if the front housing 110a and the front housing 110b are shaped differently to support a fixed attachment with the extender housing 120 or a sliding engagement with the extender housing 120, efficiency is achieved by using a sheet that can be manufactured with the same tooling as both the connector 102a and the connector 102 b. For example, similar efficiencies may be achieved in other configurations if front housing 110a and extender housing 120 are made as a single component.

An electrical connector as described herein may be formed with a different number of signal conductors than shown in fig. 2A and 2B. Fig. 3A is a front view of a third electrical connector 102c mounted to a substrate 104c and having an extender housing 120c, according to an alternative embodiment. Although the third electrical connector 102c is shown with fewer signal pairs than the first electrical connector 102a, the third electrical connector 102c may be assembled in other ways using components as described with reference to the first electrical connector 102 a. For example, the electrical connector 102c may be assembled from an extender housing 120c and a third sheet 130c having a third mating end array 134c and a third contact tail array 136c, and the extender housing 120c, the third sheet 130c, the third mating end array 134c, and the third contact tail array 136c may be configured in the manner described herein with reference to the extender housing 120, the first sheet 130a, the first mating end array 134a, and the first contact tail array 136 a.

In fig. 3A, the third electrical connector 102c is mounted to the substrate 104 c. For example, the third connector 102c may be a right angle connector mounted adjacent an edge of the substrate 104 c. In some embodiments, the substrate 104c may comprise a printed circuit board. In the illustrated embodiment of fig. 3A, the pairs of contact tails of the third array of contact tails 136c are mounted to the substrate 104 c. In some embodiments, the contact tails of the third array of contact tails 136c are configured for insertion into holes in the substrate 104 c. In some embodiments, the contact tails of the third array of contact tails 136c are configured for mounting to pads on the substrate 104c, for example, by surface mount soldering techniques.

In the illustrated embodiment, the pairs of mating ends of the third mating end array 134c are connected along parallel lines 138c and are disposed at a 45 degree angle with respect to each of the mating column direction 140c and the mating row direction 142 c.

Fig. 3B is a front view of a fourth electrical connector 102d configured to mate with the third connector 102c shown in fig. 3A. Although the fourth electrical connector 102d is shown with fewer signal pairs than the second electrical connector 102b, the fourth electrical connector 102d may be otherwise configured in the manner described with reference to the second electrical connector 102 d. For example, the electrical connector 102d may be assembled from the front housing 110d and a fourth wafer 130d having a fourth mating end array 134d and a fourth contact tail array 136 d. These components may be configured in the manner described herein with reference to the front housing 110b, the second sheet 130b, the second mating end array 134b, and the second contact tail array 136 b.

In fig. 3B, the fourth electrical connector 102d is mounted to the substrate 104 d. In some embodiments, the fourth connector 102d includes an edge connector mounted adjacent to an edge of the substrate 104 d. The substrate 104d may include a printed circuit board. The contact tails of the fourth contact tail array 136d are mounted to the substrate 104 d. In some embodiments, the contact tails of the fourth array of contact tails 136d are configured for insertion into holes in the substrate 104 d. In some embodiments, the contact tails of the fourth array of contact tails 136d are configured for mounting to pads on the substrate 104d, for example, by solder mounting.

The front housing 110d includes apertures 114d in which mating ends of the pairs of signal conductors of the fourth wafer 130d are positioned such that signal conductors from the connector 102c can be inserted into the apertures 114d to mate with the signal conductors of the fourth wafer 130 d. The ground conductors of the fourth wafer 130d are similarly exposed within the apertures 114d for mating with ground conductors from the connector 102 c.

The fourth mating end array 134d includes rows extending along a row direction 142d and spaced apart from each other in a column direction 140d perpendicular to the row direction 142 d. The pairs of mating ends of the fourth mating end array 134d are aligned along parallel lines 138 d. In the illustrated embodiment, the parallel lines 138a are disposed at a 45 degree angle relative to the row direction 142 d.

In the illustrated embodiment, the mating ends of the signal conductors of the second sheet are connected along parallel lines 138d, the parallel lines 138d being disposed at a 45 degree angle with respect to each of the mating column direction 140d and the mating row direction 142 d.

Similar to the connectors 102a and 102B, fig. 1-2, 3A-3B illustrate

connectors

102c and 102d having a direct-attach orthogonal configuration. Fig. 3C-3D illustrate electrical connectors 102C 'and 102D' having a coplanar configuration. When the connector 102c 'is mated with the connector 102 d', the substrate 104c 'and the substrate 104 d' may be coplanar. The substrates 104c 'and 104 d' with the connectors 102c 'and 102 d' mounted thereon may be aligned in parallel. In this example, connectors 102c 'and 102 d' differ from

connectors

102a, 102b, and 102c and 102d in that: the mating interfaces of the connectors 102c 'and 102 d' are angled in opposite directions, while the mating interfaces of the

connectors

102a, 102b and 102c and 102d are angled in the same direction. The connectors 102c 'and 102 d' may be otherwise configured in the manner described for the

connectors

102a, 102b, and 102c and 102 d.

The mating end arrays 134c 'and 134 d' may be adapted to a coplanar configuration. Similar to fig. 3A-3B, the mating ends of the mating end array 134c 'are positioned along parallel lines 138 c' and the mating ends of the mating end array 134d 'are positioned along parallel lines 138 d'. In fig. 3C-3D, the parallel lines 138C 'and 138D' are perpendicular to each other, as the mating end arrays 134C 'and 134D' are shown facing in the same direction. For example, while the same connector may be used on both sides of the direct-attach orthogonal configuration shown in fig. 3A-3B, variations of the same connector may be used in the coplanar configuration shown in fig. 3C-3D.

In some embodiments, the relative positions of the pair of mating ends of the mating end array 134c 'may be rotated 90 degrees relative to the relative positions of the pair of mating ends of the mating end array 134 d'. In some embodiments, parallel line 138c 'may be disposed at an angle of 45 degrees counterclockwise (e.g., +45 degrees) with respect to mating row direction 142 c', and parallel line 138d 'may be disposed at an angle of 45 degrees clockwise (e.g., -45 degrees or +135 degrees counterclockwise) with respect to mating row direction 142 d'. It should be understood that, alternatively, parallel line 138d 'may be disposed at an angle of 45 degrees counterclockwise (e.g., +45 degrees) with respect to mating row direction 142 d', and parallel line 138c 'may be disposed at an angle of 45 degrees clockwise (e.g., -45 degrees or +135 degrees counterclockwise) with respect to mating row direction 142 c'.

Fig. 4 is a partially exploded view of the electrical connector 102a of fig. 1. In this illustrated embodiment of fig. 4, the extender housing 120 is shown removed from the front housing 110a to show the front housing 110a and the array of extender modules 300.

In the illustrated embodiment, the front housing 110a is attached to the sheet 130. Front housing 110a may be formed, for example, using a dielectric such as plastic in one or more molding processes. As also shown, the front housing 110a includes a tab 112a, where the tab 112a is configured for latching the front housing 110a to the extender housing 120. For example, the tab 112a may be received in the opening 124 of the extender housing 120. Extender module 300 is shown protruding from front housing 110 a. The extender modules 300 may be mounted to the signal conductors of the sheet 130 to form the mating array 134 a. Engagement of protrusion 112a into opening 124 may be accomplished by applying a force in excess of the mating force required to press

connectors

102a and 102b together to mate or separate those connectors when unmated. Accordingly, the extender housing 120 may be secured to the front housing 110a during operation of the

connectors

102a and 102 b.

The aperture 126 of the extender housing 120 is sized to allow the mating end of the extender module 300 to extend through the aperture 126 of the extender housing 120. The mating ends of the signal conductors and ground conductors of the extender module 300 may then be exposed within a cavity that serves as a mating interface area defined by the walls of the extender housing 120. The opposite ends of the signal conductors and ground conductors within the extender module 300 may be electrically coupled to the corresponding signal conductors and ground conductors within the sheet 130 a. In this manner, the connectors between the signal and ground conductors within the wafer 130a and the connector 102b are inserted into the mating interface region.

The extender housing 120 may be formed, for example, using a dielectric such as plastic in one or more molding processes. In the illustrated embodiment, the extender housing 120 includes a groove 122. The recess 122 is configured to receive the tab 112b of the front housing 110b of the second connector 102b (fig. 6). The sliding of the projections 112b in the recesses 122 can help align the mating array 134a of the first electrical connector 102a with the mating array 134b of the second electrical connector 102b before sliding the two connectors into the mated configuration.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the electrical connector 102a of fig. 1 with a single extender module 300. In the illustrated embodiment, all but one extender module 300 is removed to show the aperture 114a of the front housing 110a, the extender module 300 extending through the aperture 114a of the front housing 110 a. For example, the aperture 114a is sized to expose the mating ends of the signal conductors of the wafer 130 and to allow the tail end of the extender module 300 to be inserted into the aperture 114a to engage the conductive elements within the wafer 130 b.

Fig. 6 is a partially exploded view of the second electrical connector 102b of fig. 1. Here, the front housing 110b is shown separated from the sheet 130 b. As shown in fig. 6, the wafers 130b of the second electrical connector 102b are each formed from a plurality of connector modules 200. In the illustrated embodiment, there are eight connector modules per wafer. The mating ends 202 of the connector module 200 extend from the wafer housing 132b to form a mating end array 134 b. When the front housing 110b is attached to the sheet 130b, the mating end array 134b extends into the front housing 110 b. The mating end 202 is accessible through the corresponding aperture 114 b.

Contact tails 206 extend from wafer housing 132b in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which mating ends 202 extend to form an array of contact tails 136 b. The connector module 200 also includes an electromagnetic shield 210 to provide isolation for electrical signals carried by signal pairs adjacent the connector module 200. In the illustrated embodiment, the shield also has a structure that forms the mating contact mating end 202 and a structure that forms contact tails within the contact tail array 136 b. The electromagnetic shield may be formed from a conductive material, such as a metal plate bent and formed into the shape shown, to form a conductive shield.

Also shown in fig. 6 is tab 130b and retaining member 180. The retaining member 180 may be stamped metal or formed from other suitable materials. As further described herein, including as described with reference to fig. 9A-9C, the retaining member 180 may be configured to secure the plurality of sheets 130b together.

A mechanism may be provided to secure the front housing 110b to the sheet 130 b. In the illustrated embodiment, the projecting tabs 150 are sized and positioned to extend into the openings 116b of the front housing 110b to secure the front housing 110b to the sheet 130 b. The force required to insert and remove projecting tab 150 from opening 116b may exceed the force of mating and/or

unmating connectors

102a and 102 b.

It should be understood that in the above-described embodiments, the first electrical connector 102a and the second electrical connector 102b include portions that may have the same configuration in both connectors. Fig. 7-9C show in more detail portions of the

connectors

102a and 102b that may be identical for both the first electrical connector 102a and the second electrical connector 102 b. The description of fig. 7-9C relates to a universal electrical connector 102, which universal electrical connector 102 may be applied to the first electrical connector 102a and the second electrical connector 102b in some embodiments.

Fig. 7 is a partially exploded view of the electrical connector 102 with the compliant shield 170 and without a front housing. The inventors have recognized and appreciated that: the pair of contact tails 206 and/or the pair of electromagnetic shield tails 220 passing through the compliant shield 170 may improve signal integrity in the electrical connector 102.

The pairs of contact tails 206 of the contact tail array 136 may extend through the compliant shield 170. The compliant shield 170 may include lossy and/or conductive portions and may also include insulating portions. The contact tail 206 may pass through an opening or insulating portion of the compliant shield 170 and may be insulated from a lossy or conductive portion. The ground conductors within the connector 102 may be electrically coupled to the lossy or conductive portions, such as by electromagnetic shield tails 220 that pass through or press against the lossy or conductive portions.

In some embodiments, the conductive portion may be compliant such that when the connector 102 is mounted to a printed circuit board, the thickness of the conductive portion may be reduced when the conductive portion is compressed between the connector 102 and the printed circuit board. The compliance may be caused by the material used and may for example be caused by an elastomer filled with conductive particles or conductive foam. When forces are applied to such materials, they may decrease in volume or may displace to exhibit compliance. The conductive and/or lossy portions can be, for example, a conductive elastomer, such as a silicon elastomer filled with conductive particles, such as particles of silver, gold, copper, nickel, aluminum, nickel-plated graphite, or combinations or alloys thereof. Alternatively or additionally, such material may be an electrically conductive open-cell foam, such as copper and nickel plated polyethylene foam.

The insulation, if present, may also be compliant. Alternatively or additionally, the compliant material may be thicker than the insulation of the compliant shield 170 so that the compliant material may extend from the mounting interface of the connector 102 to the surface of the printed circuit board to which the connector 102 is mounted.

The compliant material may be positioned in alignment with pads on the surface of the printed circuit board to which the pairs of contact tails 206 of the contact tail array 136 are to be attached or inserted. Those pads may be connected to ground structures within the printed circuit board such that when the electrical connector 102 is attached to the printed circuit board, the compliant material contacts the ground pads on the surface of the printed circuit board.

The conductive or lossy portion of the compliant shield 170 can be positioned to make electrical connection with the electromagnetic shield 210 of the connector module 200. Such a connection may be made, for example, by electromagnetic shielding tail 220 passing through and contacting a lossy or conductive portion. Alternatively or additionally, in embodiments where the lossy or conductive portions are compliant, those portions may be positioned to press against an electromagnetic shield tail 220 or other structure extending from the electromagnetic shield when the electrical connector 102 is attached to the printed circuit board.

The insulation 176 may be organized into rows along the row direction 172 and the column direction 174. As the pairs of contact tails 206 of the contact tail array 136 extend through the insulation 176, the row direction 172 of the compliant shield 170 may be substantially aligned with the contact tail row direction 146 and the column direction 174 of the compliant shield 170 may be substantially aligned with the contact tail column direction 144.

In the illustrated embodiment, the conductive members 178 join the insulating portions 176 and are positioned between rows of the contact tail array 136. In this position, they may contact the electromagnetic shield tails 220 either as a result of being pressed against the tails when compressed or as a result of the shield tails 220 passing through the conductive member 178.

Fig. 8 is a plan view of a portion 190 of the substrate 104e, which shows a portion of the connector footprint to which the connector 102 may be mounted. Here, a 4x4 grid of mounting locations is shown, with mounting

locations

194a and 194b numbered. Each mounting location may receive a contact tail from a pair of signal conductors and an electromagnetic shield tail 220 from the surrounding electromagnetic shield of the pair. Here, four such electromagnetic shield tails 220 are shown for each pair.

The mounting

locations

194a and 194b each include a conductive signal via 196 and a conductive ground via 198. The conductive signal vias 196 and the conductive ground vias 198 are configured to receive contact tails and/or electromagnetic shielding tails of an electrical connector. For example, the conductive signal vias 196 and ground vias 198 may be formed as conductive plated holes into which press-fit tails are inserted. Alternatively, the signal contact tails and/or electromagnetic shield tails may be soldered to pads on top of the conductive signal vias 196 and/or conductive ground vias 198.

In the illustrated embodiment, the substrate 104e is implemented as a multilayer printed circuit board. Fig. 8 shows a portion of an inner layer of a printed circuit board in which traces are visible. Only two traces are shown but it should be understood that a pair of traces may be connected for each pair of signal conductors. These traces may be on the illustrated layer of the printed circuit board or on another layer. Other layers may also contain constructive structures that serve as ground planes. The shield tail 220 may be connected to a ground plane.

Shown in phantom are ground pads 820, such as ground pads 820 may be formed on the surface of a printed circuit board. The ground pads 820 may be connected to one or more of the ground planes within the printed circuit board. In the illustrated embodiment, the ground pads 820 are positioned in alignment with the conductive members 178 such that when the connector 102 is mounted to a printed circuit board, a conductive path is provided between an electromagnetic shield within the connector 102 and a ground structure within the printed circuit board.

In the illustrated embodiment, the mounting locations are spaced apart to leave routing channels, with

routing channels

192a and 192b being numbered. The

routing channels

192a and 192b accommodate traces that can route signals from vias, which in turn connect to contact tails of the connector, to other locations of the printed circuit board.

In some embodiments, the conductive signal vias 196 and/or the conductive shield vias have unplated holes with a diameter less than or equal to 20 mils (mils). In some embodiments, the conductive signal vias 196 and/or the conductive ground vias 198 have unplated holes with a diameter less than or equal to 10 mils. The mounting locations may then be spaced apart in an array with center-to-center spacing in the column direction less than or equal to 2.5mm and center-to-center spacing in the row direction less than or equal to 2.5 mm. With this spacing, the through-holes have spaces for wiring channels therebetween, including wiring channels 192a in the column direction and wiring channels 192b in the row direction. Having routing channels in both the row and column directions may be advantageous because it may reduce the number of layers in a printed circuit board required to route traces to all signal vias in a connector footprint as compared to a printed circuit board where routing channels are available in only one direction. Since cost, size and weight all increase with increasing number of layers, reducing the number of layers provides a number of advantages.

In some embodiments, the conductive signal vias 196 adjacent the mounting

locations

194a and 194b are configured to receive adjacent pairs of contact tails spaced a distance less than or equal to 5mm along the line 146 e. In some embodiments, the conductive signal vias 196 adjacent the mounting

locations

194a and 194b are configured to receive adjacent pairs of contact tails of electrical connectors, wafers, and/or connector modules that are spaced a distance less than or equal to 4mm from center to center along the line 146 e. In some embodiments, the conductive signal vias 196 adjacent the mounting

locations

194a and 194b are configured to receive adjacent pairs of contact tails of electrical connectors, wafers, and/or connector modules spaced a distance less than or equal to 2.4mm along the line 146 e. In some embodiments, adjacent mounting locations may be spaced less than 8mm or less than 5mm or less than 4mm or less than or equal to 2.4mm from center to center along line 144e in the vertical direction.

Although the array of mounting locations is compact, routing channels in both the row and column directions can be achieved by implementing each of the mounting locations in a relatively compact area. The compactness of each mounting location may depend on the spacing between a pair of signal conductors within the connector module 300 and the spacing between the signal conductors and the electromagnetic shield surrounding them.

The inventors have recognized and appreciated that: these dimensions can be made smaller by including a superelastic material in the electrical connector. Superelastic materials are characterized by the amount of strain required for those materials to yield, where the superelastic material can withstand a higher strain before yielding. In addition, the shape of the stress-strain curve of a superelastic material includes "superelastic" regions.

The superelastic material may comprise a shape memory material that undergoes a reversible martensitic phase transformation upon application of a suitable mechanical driving force. The phase change may be a diffusion-free solid-solid phase change with an associated shape change; the shape change allows the superelastic material to accommodate a relatively large strain as compared to conventional (i.e., non-superelastic) materials, and therefore superelastic materials typically exhibit a much greater elastic limit than conventional materials. The elastic limit is defined herein as the maximum strain at which a material can be reversibly deformed without yielding. Conventional conductors typically exhibit an elastic limit of up to 1%, whereas superelastic conductive materials may have an elastic limit of up to 7% or 8%. Thus, the superelastic conductive material can be made smaller without sacrificing the ability to withstand substantial strain. In addition, some superelastic conductive materials may recover to their original form when exposed to a particular transition temperature of the material, even when strained beyond their elastic limit. In contrast, conventional conductors typically deform permanently once they are strained beyond their elastic limit.

Such a material may enable small signal conductors, but provides a robust structure. Such materials facilitate reducing the width of the electrical conductors of the electrical connector, which may result in a reduced spacing between the electrical conductors and the electromagnetic shields of the electrical connectors in the connector module 300. For example, in some embodiments, the superelastic member may have a diameter (or effective diameter due to a cross-sectional area having an area of a circle equal to the diameter) between and 20 mils, such as between 8 mils and 14 mils, or in some embodiments, the superelastic member may have a diameter between 5 mils and 8 mils, or the superelastic member may have a diameter within any subrange of the range between 5 mils and 14 mils.

In addition to enabling routing channels in the row and column directions, more compact connector modules may have undesirable resonant modes at high frequencies, which may be outside of the desired operating frequency range of the electrical connector. Undesirable resonant frequency modes in the operating frequency range of the electrical connector may be correspondingly reduced, which provides increased signal integrity for signals carried by the connector module.

In some embodiments, the contact tails of the contact tail array 136 and/or the mating ends of the mating end array 134 may comprise a superelastic (or pseudoelastic) material. According to particular embodiments, the superelastic material may have a suitable inherent electrical conductivity or may be made suitably electrically conductive by coating or attaching to an electrically conductive material. For example, suitable conductivities may range from about 1.5 μ Ω cm to about 200 μ Ω cm. Examples of superelastic materials that may have suitable inherent electrical conductivity include, but are not limited to, metal alloys such as copper-aluminum-nickel, copper-aluminum-zinc, copper-aluminum-manganese-nickel, nickel-titanium (e.g., nitinol), and nickel-titanium-copper. Additional examples of potentially suitable metal alloys include Ag-Cd (about 44-49 at% Cd), Au-Cd (about 46.5-50 at% Cd), Cu-Al-Ni (about 14-14.5 wt%, about 3-4.5 wt% Ni), Cu-Au-Zn (about 23-28 at% Au, about 45-47 at% Zn), Cu-Sn (about 15 at% Sn), Cu-Zn (about 38.5-41.5 wt% Zn), Cu-Zn-X (X ═ Si, Sn, Al, Ga, about 1-5 at% X), Ni-Al (about 36-38 at% Al), Ti-Ni (about 49-51 at% Ni), Fe-Pt (about 25 at% Pt), and Fe-Pd (about 30 at% Pd).

In some embodiments, a particular superelastic material may be selected for its mechanical response rather than its electrical properties, and the particular superelastic material may not have suitable inherent electrical conductivity. In such embodiments, the superelastic material may be coated with a more conductive metal such as silver to improve electrical conductivity. For example, the coating may be applied with a Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) process, a Physical Vapor Deposition (PVD) process, or any other suitable coating process, as the disclosure is not limited thereto. Coated superelastic materials may also be particularly beneficial in high frequency applications where a substantial portion of electrical conduction occurs near the surface of the conductor.

In some embodiments, a connector element comprising a superelastic material may be formed by attaching a superelastic material to a conventional material, which may have a higher electrical conductivity than the superelastic material. For example, the superelastic material may be employed only in portions of the connector elements that may undergo large deformations, while other portions of the connector that do not significantly deform during operation of the connector may be made of conventional (highly conductive) materials.

The inventors have recognized and appreciated that: implementing the portion of the electrical connector using a superelastic conductive material enables a smaller structure to be implemented that is still strong enough to withstand the operational requirements of the electrical connector, thus facilitating a higher signal conductor density within the portion made of superelastic material. Such tighter spacing may be achieved by the interconnect system. For example, as described above with reference to fig. 8, a mounting footprint for receiving the electrical connector 102 on a substrate may be adapted to receive the high-density array of contact tails 136.

The spacing between the conductive signal vias 196 and/or the conductive ground vias 198 on the substrate 104e may be adapted to match the spacing of the pairs of contact tails 206 and/or the pairs of electromagnetic shielding tails 220 of the contact tail array 136 of the electrical connector 102. Thus, a tighter spacing between signal conductors and/or a smaller spacing between signal conductors and ground conductors will result in a more compact footprint. Alternatively or additionally, more space will be available for routing channels.

In some embodiments, the contact tails of the electrical connector 102 may be implemented with a superconducting elastomer material, which may enable smaller vias and tighter spacing between adjacent pairs than conventional contact tails. In some embodiments, the conductive signal vias 196 adjacent to the mounting

locations

194a and 194b may be spaced on a 2.4mm by 2.4mm grid in some embodiments.

Such close spacing may be achieved by a thin contact tail, such as may be achieved with superelastic wires having a diameter of less than 10 mils, for example. In some embodiments, the contact tails of the connectors described herein can be configured to be inserted into plated holes formed with an unplated diameter of less than or equal to 20 mils. In some embodiments, the contact tail may be configured to be inserted into a via drilled with an unplated diameter of less than or equal to 10 mils. In some embodiments, the contact tails may each have a width between 6 mils and 20 mils. In some embodiments, the contact tails may each have a width between 6 mils and 10 mils, or in other embodiments, the contact tails may each have a width between 8 mils and 10 mils.

Fig. 9A-16C provide additional details of the components of the connector 102. Fig. 9A shows the wafer 130 and fig. 9B-9C show the retaining member 180 of the electrical connector 102. In the illustrated embodiment of fig. 9A, the sheet 130 is positioned along the contact tail direction 146 and the retaining tabs 152 of the sheet housing 132 engage the retaining members 180. The retaining members 180 are configured to secure the sheets 130 to one another. In fig. 9B-9C, retaining member 180 includes a slot 182 for receiving retaining tab 152 of sheet 130. The retaining member 180 may be stamped from metal, but may alternatively be formed from a dielectric material such as plastic.

Fig. 10A is a perspective view of the wafer 130 of the electrical connector 102. In the illustrated embodiment, the sheet housing 132 is formed from two

housing members

133a and 133 b. Fig. 10B is a perspective view of the sheet 130 in which the sheet housing member 133a is cut away. As shown in fig. 10A and 10B, the sheet 130 includes a connector module 200 between two sheet housing members 133a and 133B. In the illustrated embodiment, the

sheet housing members

133a and 133b retain the connector module 200 in the sheet 130.

The

sheet housing members

133a and 133b include a protrusion 154 and a hole 156 configured to receive the protrusion 154 so as to hold the

sheet housing members

133a and 133b together. In some embodiments, the

sheet housing members

133a and 133b may be formed of or include a lossy conductive material, such as a conductive plated plastic or insulating material. The inventors have recognized and appreciated that: implementing the

sheet housing members

133a and 133b with lossy conductive material provides damping of undesirable resonant modes in and between the connector modules 200, thereby improving the signal integrity of signals carried by the electrical connector 102.

Any suitable lossy material may be used for these and other structures that are "lossy". A material that is conductive but has some loss or absorbs electromagnetic energy through another physical mechanism in the frequency range of interest is generally referred to herein as a "lossy" material. Electrically lossy material can be formed of lossy dielectric material and/or poorly conducting material and/or lossy magnetic material. The magnetically lossy material can be formed, for example, from materials traditionally considered to be ferromagnetic materials, such as those having a magnetic loss tangent greater than about 0.05 over the frequency range of interest. "magnetic loss tangent (magnetic loss tangent)" is the ratio of the imaginary part to the real part of the complex electromagnetic conductivity of a material. Actual lossy magnetic material or mixtures containing lossy magnetic material may also exhibit useful amounts of dielectric or conduction loss effects over a portion of the frequency range of interest. Electrically lossy materials can be formed from materials traditionally considered dielectric materials, such as those having an electrical loss tangent greater than about 0.05 in the frequency range of interest. "electric loss tangent (electric tangent)" is the ratio of the imaginary part to the real part of the complex dielectric constant of a material. Electrically lossy materials can also be formed from materials that are generally considered conductors but are relatively poor conductors over the frequency range of interest, which materials contain conductive particles or conductive regions that are sufficiently dispersed so that they do not provide high conductivity or are otherwise prepared with properties that result in relatively poor bulk conductivity compared to good conductors, such as copper, over the frequency range of interest.

The electrically lossy material typically has a bulk conductivity of about 1 siemens/m to about 10,000 siemens/m and preferably about 1 siemens/m to about 5,000 siemens/m. In some embodiments, materials having a bulk conductivity between about 10 siemens/meter and about 200 siemens/meter may be used. As a specific example, a material having a conductivity of about 50 siemens/meter may be used. However, it should be understood that the conductivity of the material may be selected empirically or by electrical simulation using known simulation tools to determine a suitable conductivity that provides suitable low cross talk and suitable low signal path attenuation or insertion loss.

The electrically lossy material can be a partially conductive material, such as a material having a surface resistivity between 1 Ω/square and 100,000 Ω/square. In some embodiments, the electrically lossy material has a surface resistivity between 10 Ω/square and 1000 Ω/square. As a particular example, the material may have a surface resistivity of between about 20 Ω/square and 80 Ω/square.

In some embodiments, the electrically lossy material is formed by adding a filler comprising conductive particles to a binder. In such embodiments, the lossy member can be formed by molding or otherwise shaping the adhesive with filler into a desired form. Examples of conductive particles that may be used as fillers to form the electrically lossy material include carbon or graphite or other types of particles formed into fibers, flakes, nanoparticles. Metals or other particulates in powder, flake, fiber form may also be used to provide suitable electrically lossy characteristics. Alternatively, a combination of fillers may be used. For example, metal-plated carbon particles may be used. Silver and nickel are suitable metal coatings for the fibers. The coated particles may be used alone or in combination with other fillers such as carbon sheets. The binder or matrix may be any material that will set, cure, or may otherwise be used to position the filler material. In some embodiments, the adhesive may be a thermoplastic material conventionally used in the manufacture of electrical connectors to facilitate molding of electrically lossy materials into desired shapes and locations as part of the manufacture of the electrical connectors. Examples of such materials include Liquid Crystal Polymer (LCP) and nylon. However, many alternative forms of adhesive materials may be used. Curable materials such as epoxy resins may be used as the adhesive. Alternatively, a material such as a thermosetting resin or an adhesive may be used.

Further, although the above-described binder material may be used to produce an electrically lossy material by forming a binder around a conductive particulate filler, the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the conductive particles may be impregnated into or coated onto the formed matrix material, such as by applying a conductive coating to a plastic or metal part. As used herein, the term "adhesive" includes materials that encapsulate, impregnate, or otherwise serve as a substrate for holding a filler.

Preferably, the filler will be present in a sufficient volume percentage to allow for the creation of a conductive path from particle to particle. For example, when metal fibers are used, the fibers may be present in about 3% to 40% by volume. The amount of filler may affect the conductive properties of the material.

The filler material may be purchased commercially, such as by Celanese corporation under the trade name

Materials sold that may be filled with carbon fiber or stainless steel wire. Lossy materials, such as lossy conductive carbon filled adhesive preforms, such as those sold by Techfilm of Billerica (Billerica), massachusetts, usa, may also be used. Such preforms may include an epoxy adhesive filled with carbon fibers and/or other carbon particles. The binder surrounds the carbon particles, which may serve as a reinforcement material for the preform. Such a preform may be inserted into a connector wafer to form all or a portion of a housing. In some embodiments, the preform may be adhered by an adhesive in the preform, which may be cured during the heat treatment. In some embodiments, the adhesive may take the form of a separate conductive or non-conductive adhesive layer. In some embodiments, the adhesive in the preform may alternatively or additionally be used to secure one or more conductive elements, such as a foil strip, to the lossy material.

Various forms of reinforcing fibers, either woven or non-woven, coated or non-coated, may be used. Non-woven carbon fibers are one suitable material. Other suitable materials may be used such as a custom mix sold by RTP company, as the invention is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the lossy portion can be fabricated by stamping a preform or sheet of lossy material. For example, the lossy portion may be formed by stamping a preform as described above with an appropriate opening pattern. However, other materials may be used instead of or in addition to such preforms. For example, a sheet of ferromagnetic material may be used.

However, the lossy portion may be formed in other manners. In some implementations, the lossy portion can be formed by interleaving layers of lossy and conductive material, such as metal foil. The layers may be rigidly attached to each other, such as by using an epoxy or other adhesive, or may be held together in any other suitable manner. The layers may have a desired shape prior to being secured to one another, or may be stamped or otherwise formed after they are held together. As another alternative, the lossy portion may be formed by plating plastic or other insulating material with a lossy coating such as a diffused metal coating.

As shown in fig. 10B, the connector modules 200 are aligned along the mating column direction 140. As shown in fig. 10B, the connector module 200 includes a mating end 202 and a mounting end with exposed contact tails 206 of the signal conductors within the module. The mating and mounting ends of the module 200 are connected by a middle portion 204. The connector module 200 further includes an electromagnetic shield 210, the electromagnetic shield 210 having an electromagnetic shield tail 212 and an electromagnetic shield mating end 212 at the mounting end and the mating end of the module, respectively.

In the illustrated embodiment, the mating ends of the signal conductors of each connector module are separated along parallel lines 138 at the mating ends 202, which are at a 45 degree angle relative to the mating column direction 140.

In the illustrated embodiment, the contact tails 206 of the signal conductors within the connector module are positioned in columns along the contact tail column direction 144, with pairs of the contact tails 206 also separated along the contact tail column direction 144. As shown, the contact tail direction 144 is perpendicular to the mating column direction 140. However, it should be understood that the mating and mounting ends may have any desired relative orientation. According to various embodiments, the contact tails 206 may be edge-coupled or broadside-coupled.

Fig. 11 is a plan view of the housing member 133b of the wafer 130 and one connector module 200. As shown in fig. 11, the sheet housing member 133b includes a groove 160 shaped to receive the connector module 200. The housing member 133a similarly may include a groove that cooperates with the groove 160 to form a channel in which the connector module 200 is disposed.

The groove 160 includes a first notch 162 and a second notch 164, each notch shaped to receive a projection, such as projection 232, from the connector module 200. Such notches and protrusions may provide mechanical integrity to the wafer 130 such that the module 200 does not rotate when the connector 102 is pressed against, for example, a printed circuit board.

Fig. 12A-12C show a side view, a perspective view, and an alternative perspective view, respectively, of a representative connector module 200. As shown in fig. 10B, the wafer may include an array of connector modules 200. Each of the connector modules may be in a separate row at the mating and mounting interfaces of the connector. In a right angle connector, the modules in each row may have intermediate sections 204 of different lengths. In some embodiments, the mating end and the mounting end may be identical.

As shown in fig. 12A to 12C, the

electromagnetic shielding members

210a and 210b are disposed around the inner insulating member 230. The first and second holding members 222 of the

electromagnetic shields

210a and 210b hold the first shield 210a to the second shield 210b surrounding the inner insulating member 230.

In the illustrated embodiment, the electromagnetic shield 210 completely covers the connector module 200 on two sides with gaps 218 on the remaining two sides, such that only partial coverage is provided on those sides. The inner insulating member 230 is exposed through the gap 218. However, in some embodiments, the electromagnetic shielding member 210 may completely cover the insulating member 230 on 4 sides. The gap 218 may be relatively narrow so as not to allow any significant amount of electromagnetic energy to pass through the gap. The gap may be, for example, less than one-half of the wavelength of the highest frequency in the intended operating range of the connector, or in some embodiments, the gap may be, for example, less than one-quarter of the wavelength of the highest frequency in the intended operating range of the connector. Signal conductors within the connector module 200 are described herein, including signal conductors within the connector module 200 described with reference to fig. 16A-16C. The electromagnetic shielding member 210 may be a conductive shield. For example, the electromagnetic shielding member 210 may be stamped from a metal sheet.

Fig. 12A-12C illustrate the first transition region 208a and the second transition region 208b of the connector module 200. In the first transition area 208a, the mating end 202 connects to the middle portion 204. In the second transition region 208b, the middle portion 204 is connected to the contact tail 206.

The

electromagnetic shields

210a and 210b include electromagnetic shield tails 220 and electromagnetic shield mating ends 212 at the mating end 202, the electromagnetic shield tails 220 extending from the module 200 parallel to the contact tails 206 of the signal conductors within the module 200 and along the sides of the contact tails 206 of the signal conductors within the module 200. The electromagnetic shield mating end 212 surrounds the mating end of the signal conductor.

The electromagnetic shield mating end 212 is stamped with an outward projection 214 in the first transition area 208a and an inward projection 216 at the mating end 202. Accordingly, the outwardly projecting portion 214 is disposed between the intermediate portion 204 and the inwardly projecting portion 216. The electromagnetic shield mating end 212 imprinted with the outward protrusion 214 counteracts the change in impedance along the length of the connector module 200 associated with the change in shape of the connector module 200 in the transition region. For example, the impedance along the signal path through the connector module 200 may be between 90 ohms and 100 ohms at frequencies between 45GHz and 50 GHz.

The electromagnetic shielding mating end 212, which is stamped with the inward projections 216, provides a more constant impedance between a first operating state in which the connector module 200 is firmly pressed against a mating connector and a second operating state in which the connector module 200 is partially disengaged such that there is a space between the connector module 200 and the mating connector, but the connectors are close enough to mate signal conductors in those connectors. In some embodiments, the impedance change between the fully mated configuration and the partially unmated configuration of the mating end 202 is less than 5 ohms at the operating frequency of the connector, for example in the range of 45GHz to 50 GHz.

Fig. 13A-13C are side, perspective and alternative side views, respectively, of the connector module 200 with the

electromagnetic shields

210a and 210b cut away. As shown in fig. 13A to 13C, the

outer insulation members

280a and 280b are disposed on opposite sides of the inner insulation member 230. The

outer insulation members

280a and 280b may be formed using a dielectric material such as plastic. The protrusion 232 of the inner insulative member 230 is disposed closer to the contact tail 206 than the mating end 202 and extends in a direction opposite to the direction along which the contact tail 206 extends.

The mating ends 202 of the signal conductors within the connector module 200 include

compliant receptacles

270a and 270b, each having a

mating arm

272a and 272 b. In the illustrated embodiment, the

compliant receptacles

270a and 270b are configured to receive and contact mating portions of signal conductors of a mating connector between the

mating arms

272a and 272 b.

As also shown in fig. 13A-13C, the insulation of the connector module 200 may insulate the

receptacles

270a and 270b from each other. These insulating portions may also position the

receptacles

270a and 270b and provide apertures through which mating portions of mating connectors may enter the

receptacles

270a and 270 b. These insulating portions may be formed as part of the insulating member 230. In the illustrated embodiment, inner insulating member 230 has an extension 234, and extension 234 includes

arms

236a and 236b and

apertures

238a and 238 b. The extension 234 extends beyond the

compliant receptacles

270a and 270b in the direction along which the mating end 202 is elongated. The

arms

236a and 236b are spaced further apart than the mating end 202. The

apertures

238a and 238b may be configured to receive wires therethrough such that the wires extend into the

compliant receptacles

270a and 270 b. For example, the gaps between the

arms

272a and 272b of the

compliant receptacles

270a and 270b are aligned with the

apertures

238a and 238 b.

Fig. 14A-14C are side, perspective and alternative side views, respectively, of the connector module 200 with the

electromagnetic shielding members

210a and 210b and the outer insulating

members

280a and 280b cut away. As also shown in fig. 14A-14C, the connector module 200 includes signal conductors 260, the signal conductors 260 being shown here as

signal conductors

260a and 260b implemented as differential pairs. When the connector module 200 is assembled, the signal conductors 260a may be disposed between the outer insulating member 280a and the inner insulating member 230, and the signal conductors 260b may be disposed between the outer insulating member 280b and the inner insulating member 230.

One or more of inner insulating member 230 and outer insulating

members

280a and 280b may include features to hold the insulating components together so as to securely position signal conductor 260 within the insulating structure. In the illustrated embodiment, the first and second retaining

members

240 and 242 of the inner insulating member 230 may extend into openings in the outer insulating

members

280a and 280 b. In the illustrated embodiment, the first retention member 240 is disposed adjacent the mating end 202 and extends in a direction perpendicular to the direction along which the mating end 202 extends. The second retaining member 242 is disposed adjacent the contact tail 206 and extends in a direction perpendicular to the direction along which the contact tail 206 extends.

Intermediate portions of

signal conductors

260a and 260b are on opposite sides of inner insulating member 230. In the illustrated embodiment, the

signal conductors

260a and 260b are each stamped from sheet metal and then bent into the desired shape. The middle portion is flat, and the thickness of the middle portion is equal to the thickness of the metal sheet. Thus, the middle portion has opposing broadsides joined together by edges that are thinner than the broadsides. In this embodiment, the middle portions are aligned broadside-to-broadside to provide broadside coupling within the module 200.

In fig. 14A-14C, the signal conductors 260 include mating ends 262, middle portions 264, contact tails 266 at the mating ends 202, middle portions 204, and contact tails 206 of the connector module 200. As shown, the mating end 262 includes

compliant receptacles

270a and 270b and the contact tails 266 include eye-of-the-needle press-fit tails.

In the illustrated embodiment, the mating ends 262 and contact tails 266 of a pair of signal conductors 260 are not aligned broadside-to-broadside as are the intermediate portions 264. Thus, the relative position of the pair of

signal conductors

260a and 260b changes between the middle portion 264 and each of the mating end 262 and the contact tail 266. The relative positions change in the

transition regions

268a and 268 b.

A first transition area 268a of the signal conductor 260 connects the mating end 262 to the middle portion 264. A second transition region 268b connects the contact tail 266 of the signal conductor 260 to the intermediate portion 264. In each of these

transition regions

268a and 268b, the angular position about an axis parallel to the longitudinal dimension of the pair of

signal conductors

260a and 260b changes. The angular distance between the

signal conductors

260a and 260b may remain the same, for example at 180 degrees. In the illustrated embodiment, the angular position of the

signal conductors

260a and 260b changes by 45 degrees within the transition region 268a and 90 degrees within the transition region 268b such that the pair is angularly twisted in view of crossing the

transition regions

268a and 268 b.

The inner insulating member 230 may be shaped to accommodate a pair of signal conductors having such transition regions. In the illustrated embodiment, the signal conductors 260 are disposed in grooves 250 on opposite sides of the inner insulating member 230.

Transition regions

268a and 268b of signal conductor 260 are disposed within transition guides 252a and 252b of groove 250. The grooves 250 of the inner insulating member 230 are described herein, including the grooves 250 of the inner insulating member 230 described with reference to fig. 15.

It should be understood that some embodiments do not include the second transition region 268b, such as in fig. 23 where the contact tails are shown as being aligned broadside-to-broadside.

Fig. 15 is a perspective view of the inner insulating member 230 of the connector module 200. As shown in fig. 15, the inner insulating member 230 includes a main body 244 and an extension 234 joined together by a connecting portion 246. The inner insulating member 230 may be formed using a dielectric material such as plastic and may be formed by, for example, molding. The opposing side of the body 244 includes a groove 250. The grooves 250 are shaped to receive the signal conductors 260 of the connector module 200. In the illustrated embodiment, the groove 250 includes a first transition piece 252a and a second transition piece 252b configured to conform to the signal conductors in the

transition regions

268a and 268 b. For example, the transition guides 252a and 252b may be shaped to accommodate the transition of the signal conductor 260. The connection 246 is disposed between the extension 234 and the body 244.

Fig. 16A-16C are side, perspective, and alternative side views of the

signal conductors

260a and 260b of the connector module 200 of fig. 14A-14C. As shown in fig. 16A-16C, the mating ends 262a and 262b extend in a first direction and the contact tails 266A and 266b extend in a second direction at right angles to the first direction. In the illustrated embodiment, the

contact tails

266a and 266b are configured as press-fit ends. Thus, the

contact tails

266a and 266b can be configured to compress when inserted into a hole, such as in a printed circuit board.

Here, each

signal conductor

260a and 260b is configured to carry a component of a differential signal. The

signal conductors

260a and 260b may each be formed as a single, unitary conductive element, which may be stamped from sheet metal. However, in some embodiments, each of the

signal conductors

260a and 260b may be formed from a plurality of conductive elements that are fused, welded, soldered, or otherwise joined together. For example, portions of the

signal conductors

260a and 260b, such as the

contact tails

266a and 266b and the mating ends 262a and 262b, may be formed using a superelastic, electrically-conductive material.

Due to the transition area 268a, the mating ends 262a and 262b are separated from each other along the line 138 while the

intermediate portions

264a and 264b adjacent to the mating ends 262a and 262b are separated along the mating row direction 142. As shown, for example, in fig. 7, the connector 102 may be configured such that all of the modules 200 are positioned in a row extending along the row direction 142. All of the modules may include similarly oriented mating ends such that, for each module, the mating ends of the signal conductors will be separated from each other along a line parallel to the line 138.

The relative positions of the

signal conductors

260a and 260b change along the first transition area 268a such that at a first end of the first transition area 268a adjacent the mating ends 262a and 262b, the

signal conductors

260a and 260b are aligned along the first parallel line 138, and at a second end of the first transition area 268a adjacent the

intermediate portions

264a and 264b, the

signal conductors

260a and 260b are aligned along the mating row direction 142. In the example shown, the first transition region 268a provides a 45 degree twist between the line 138 and the mating row direction 142. Within first transition region 268a, signal conductor 260a extends away from contact tail direction 144 and signal conductor 260b extends toward contact tail direction 144.

Although the relative positions of the

signal conductors

260a and 260b on the transition region vary, the inventors have recognized and appreciated that: the signal integrity of a pair of signal conductors may be enhanced by configuring the module 200 to maintain each of the

signal conductors

260a and 260b adjacent to the same

respective shield member

210a or 210b over the entire transition region. Alternatively or additionally, the spacing between the

signal conductors

260a and 260b and the

respective shield member

210a or 210b may be relatively constant over the transition region. For example, in some embodiments, the spacing between the signal conductors and the shielding members may vary by no more than 30%, or 20%, or 10%.

The module 200 may include one or more features that provide such relative positioning and spacing of the signal conductors and shield members. As can be seen, for example, from a comparison of fig. 12a … … fig. 12C with fig. 16a … … fig. 16C, the

shield members

210a and 210b have a generally planar shape in the intermediate portion 204 that is parallel to the intermediate portion 264 of the

respective signal conductor

260a or 260 b. The shield mating end 212 may be formed from the same sheet metal as the middle portion, with the shield mating end 212 twisted relative to the middle portion 204. The twisting of the shield members may have the same angle and/or the same angular twist rate as the signal conductors, ensuring that each signal conductor, ensuring that the same shield member, is adjacent to the same signal conductor throughout the transition region.

Further, as can be seen in fig. 16A-16C, the mating ends 262a and 262b are formed by rolling the conductive material of the sheet metal from which the signal conductors 260 are formed into a generally tubular configuration. The material rolls toward the centerline between the mating ends 262a and 262 b. Such a configuration has the flat surfaces of the signal conductors facing outward toward the shield member, which may help maintain a constant spacing between the signal conductors and the shield member even in the torsional region.

It should be understood that the spacing between

signal conductors

260a and 260b may be substantially constant in units of distance. Alternatively, the spacing may provide a substantially constant impedance. In such a case, for example where the signal conductor is wider, such as by being rolled into a tube, the spacing relative to the shield can be adjusted to ensure that the impedance of the signal conductor is substantially constant.

As shown in fig. 16A-16C, contact tails 266A and 266b are separated along contact tail column direction 144, and

intermediate portions

264a and 264b adjacent to contact tails 266A and 266b are separated along contact tail row direction 146. Thus, the

contact tails

266a and 266b are separated along a first direction, and the

intermediate portions

264a and 264b adjacent to the

contact tails

266a and 266b are separated along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. This difference in the direction of separation of the segments of the same conductor is a result of the second transition region 268 b. In the illustrated embodiment, the signal conductors are twisted 90 degrees in the second transition region 268b such that there is a 90 degree difference between the contact tail direction 144 and the second contact tail row direction 146. The relative positions of

signal conductors

260a and 260b change along second transition region 268b such that at a first end of second transition region 268b

adjacent contact tails

266a and 266b,

signal conductors

260a and 260b are aligned along contact tail direction 144, and at a second end of second transition region 268b adjacent

intermediate portions

264a and 264b,

signal conductors

260a and 260b are aligned along contact tail row direction 146.

As described above, the extender module 300 enables the mating interface of the electrical connector 102 to be mated. In some embodiments, such as shown in fig. 1, connectors, such as connector 102, may mate with one another by attaching an extender module to one of the connectors. The extender module 300 may be mounted on the connector module 200 to provide a modified mating interface for the electrical connector 102. Thus, the extender module 300 may be configured at one end to be a mating interface for attachment to the connector 102, and the extender module 300 may be configured at the other end to be mated with the connector 102. In such a configuration, there may be one extender module attached to each connector module 200.

Fig. 17A is a perspective view of the connector module 200 with the extender module 300 attached. Fig. 17B is a perspective view of the connector module 200 and the extender module 300 with the electromagnetic shields 210a and 210B cut away. Fig. 17C is a perspective view of the signal conductors 260 of the extender module and connector module 200 of fig. 17C.

The extender module 300 includes

mating portions

304a and 304b at the ends of the extender module 300. The

mating portions

304a and 304b extend away from the connector module 200. Here, the

mating portions

304a and 304b are configured as circular conductors that fit into receptacles of mating connectors. In embodiments where the mating connector has receptacles, such as

receptacles

270a and 270b, the

mating arms

272a and 272b will be sized to deflect and generate a contact force when inserted into the

mating segments

304a and 304 b. In some embodiments, the contact force may be between 25gm and 45 gm. In some embodiments, the contact force may be between 30gm and 40 gm.

In fig. 17A to 17C, the extender module 300 is attached to the connector module 200. The attachment between the extender module 300 and the connector module 200 may be detachable so that the extender module 300 may be removed from the connector module 200 and reattached multiple times. However, in the illustrated embodiment, the extender module 300 is configured to make a connection with the connector module 200 that is maintained throughout the life of the connector resulting from the combination. The

portions

306a and 306b of the signal conductors 302 of the extender module 300 extend toward the connector module 200 and are configured to make such connections.

In the illustrated embodiment, the

mating portions

304a and 304b of the signal conductors 302 of the extender module 300 are located at the mating interface 314 of the extender module 300. The

second portions

306a and 306b of the signal conductors 302 of the extender module 300 are located at the mounting interface 316 of the extender module 300. Each of the

mating portions

304a and 304b and the

second portions

306a and 306b extends in a direction parallel to the direction in which the extender module 300 is elongated. The

second portions

306a and 306b include contact tails configured to extend through the

apertures

238a and 238b of the extension 234 of the inner insulating member 230. When mounted to the connector module 200, the

second portions

306a and 306b are positioned between the

mating arms

272a and 272b of each of the

compliant receptacles

270a and 270 b. In the illustrated embodiment, the

second portions

306a and 306b terminate with press-fit ends that are configured for insertion between the

mating arms

272a and 272 b. Mounting the

second portions

306a and 306b of the signal conductors 302 of the extender module 300 to the mating ends 262 of the signal conductors 260 of the connector module 200 may require a force of at least 60N.

In some embodiments,

mating portions

304a and 304b and/or

second portions

306a and 306b may be formed from a superelastic, electrically conductive material. The use of superelastic materials may enable those components to have small widths while providing sufficient robustness. For example, the

mating portions

304a and 304b may have an effective diameter of between 5 mils and 20 mils. The signal conductors having superelastic fits may be formed entirely of a superelastic material. Alternatively, the conductor may be formed in part from a conventional metal such as phosphor bronze, with a superelastic component attached thereto. For example, the superelastic wire may be attached or brazed to a conventional metal member by forming mechanically connected tabs. In some embodiments,

mating portions

304a and 304b and/or

second portions

306a and 306b may comprise superelastic wire having a width between 5 mils and 20 mils. In some embodiments,

mating portions

304a and 304b and/or

second portions

306a and 306b may comprise superelastic wires having a width of less than 12 mils.

The

mating portions

304a and 304b of the signal conductors 302 of the extender module 300 may be configured to mate with the mating ends 262a and 262b of the signal conductors 260 of the connector module 200. In the illustrated embodiment,

mating portions

304a and 304b terminate with pins configured to extend through

apertures

238a and 238b of extension 234 and are sized to fit between

arms

272a and 272b of

compliant receptacles

270a and 270 b. When formed using a superelastic material, the

mating portions

304a and 304b may be spaced apart a distance less than the hole spacing distance of the extension 234, such that the

mating portions

304a and 304b deform as they extend through the holes and/or into the mating ends 262a and 262b and reshape when removed from the holes and/or the mating ends 262a and 262 b.

The use of small diameter wires may also support tighter spacing between signal pairs within the connector, and also support shielding around each pair having a relatively small cross-sectional area, including at the mating interface of the connector where the electromagnetic shield may have its largest cross-sectional area. The effective diameter of the signal conductors at the mating interface is set by the outer dimensions of the

arms

272a and 272b of the

compliant receptacles

270a and 270b as they deflect as a result of insertion into the

mating segments

304a and 304 b. The smaller

diameter mating portions

304a and 304b allow the outer dimensions of the

arms

272a and 272b to be smaller as they deflect. The smaller size of the signal conductors, in turn, results in smaller spacing between components at the mating interface, including the signal conductors and a grounded electromagnetic shield surrounding the signal conductors to provide the desired impedance to the signal conductors.

The cross-sectional area of the largest part of the electromagnetic shield may be, for example, 3mm²To 5mm²Wherein the largest dimension is less than 4mm, such as 3.8mm or less, or in some embodiments, the largest dimension is less than 3.5mm or 3 mm. This small size may establish the frequency of the lowest frequency resonant mode supported by the enclosure formed by the electromagnetic shield, which is outside the desired operating range of the connector. Resonant frequencies outside the operating range improve the integrity of the signal passing through the connection system.

Another advantage of the connectors described herein is the consistency of the mating interface provided. Each mating interface may provide desired impedance characteristics regardless of whether the connector is mated directly with another connector or with one or more extender modules forming a mating interface therebetween. For example, the

mating portions

304a and 304b of the signal conductors 302 of the extender module 300 may provide the same benefits of impedance uniformity associated with mating portions of a mating connector even if the

mating portions

304a and 304b are not entirely within the mating ends of the mating connector, such as the

compliant receptacles

270a and 270b of the connector module 200. In some embodiments, the impedance variation between the mated and unmated configurations of the mating end 202 may be less than 5 ohms at the operating frequency of the connector, such as in the range of 45GHz to 50 GHz.

Fig. 18A-18C are perspective, side, and alternative side views of the extender module 300. As shown in fig. 18A-18C, the extender module 300 includes an insulating member 330,

electromagnetic shielding members

310a and 310b, and a pair of signal conductors each having a mating portion and a portion for attachment to a signal conductor within a connector extending from the insulating member 330.

In the illustrated embodiment, the extender module 300 is elongated on a straight line from the

mating portions

304a and 304b at the mating interface 314 to the second portions 306 and 306b at the mounting interface 316. The

mating portions

304a and 304b of the signal conductors 302 are separated from each other along the first line 320. The

second portions

306a and 306b of the signal conductor 302 are similarly separated from each other along a line, here a second line 322 parallel to the first line 320.

Additional details of the

second portions

306a and 306b can be seen in fig. 18A-18C. As shown, these portions are press fit tails having a shape that will compress when inserted into the opening to apply a force against the sides of the opening. The press fit tails are shown as "S" shaped or serpentine in cross-section. Other shapes of press fits, such as an eye-of-the-needle press fit for attaching signal conductors to a printed circuit board, may alternatively be used on some or all of the connector modules.

The insulating member 330 may be formed using a dielectric material, such as plastic, which may be insert molded or otherwise formed around the signal conductors of the extender module. The insulating member may be formed with structural features. For example, the insulating member 330 may include features to facilitate attachment to or mating with a signal module. The

tabs

332a and 332b and the

tabs

334a and 334b may be shaped to fit between the tabs 216 at the mating end 202 of the connector module 200. Alternatively or additionally, the insulating member 330 may include features that facilitate engagement with the front housing 110 and/or the extender housing 120 or positioning relative to the front housing 110 and/or the extender housing 120.

Wings

336a and 336b may provide this function. The

wings

336a and 336b are disposed between the mating interface 314 and the mounting interface 316 and extend in opposite directions parallel to the

lines

320 and 322.

Wings

336a and 336b each have a

concave portion

338a or 338b, which

concave portion

338a or 338b is indented in a direction opposite to the direction in which the

respective wing

336a or 336b extends.

Electromagnetic shielding members

310a and 310b may be attached on opposite sides of the extender module 300. The

electromagnetic shielding members

310a and 310b may include conductive shields. For example, the

electromagnetic shielding members

310a and 310b may be stamped from a metal sheet. The electromagnetic shield member 310a includes a first attachment member 312a, and the electromagnetic shield member 310b includes a second attachment member 312b for engaging with the first attachment member 312a to attach the

electromagnetic shield members

310a and 310b to each other. In the illustrated embodiment, the first attachment member 312a includes a hooked tab and the second attachment member 312b includes an opening for receiving the tab such that the hook of the tab is latched in the opening. The first and

second attachment members

312a and 312b engage each other at the

concave portions

338a and 338b of the

wings

336a and 336 b.

The

electromagnetic shields

310a and 310b may also include features for mating with or attaching to electromagnetic shields within the connector module with which the extender module 300 is mated or attached. In the example of fig. 18A to 18C, the mating contact faces are formed on portions of the

electromagnetic shielding members

310a and 310 b.

Mating contacts

350a, 350b, 352a, and 352b are formed at each distal end of the

shield members

310a and 310b, adjacent to a mating or mounting interface. The

mating contacts

350a, 350b, 352a and 352b are shown here as convex surfaces formed in the

electromagnetic shielding members

310a and 310 b. The convex surface may be plated with gold or other oxidation resistant material to enhance electrical contact. Further, the most distal portions of the

electromagnetic shielding members

310a and 310b beyond the mating contact portions may be embedded within portions of the insulating member 330 or protected by portions of the insulating member 330 to prevent the

electromagnetic shielding members

310a and 310b from catching or snagging on the structure with the connector module 200 when inserted into the mating ends 262 of the signal conductors 260 of the connector module 200.

Fig. 19A-19B are side and alternative side views of the extender module 300 with the electromagnetic shielding members 310a and 310B cut away from the extender module to better illustrate the insulating member 330.

Fig. 20A-20B are side and alternative side views of the signal conductors 302a and 302B of the extender module 300.

The

signal conductors

302a and 302b may be stamped from sheet metal. Alternatively, the

signal conductors

302a and 302b may be formed using a plurality of conductive elements that are fused, welded, soldered, or otherwise joined together. For example, the

mating portions

304a and 304b and/or the

second portions

306a and 306b of the

signal conductors

302a and 302b may be formed separately and then attached to each other. This approach may enable the

mating portions

304a and 304b to be easily formed with smooth surfaces and/or different material properties. In some embodiments,

mating portions

304a and 304b may be formed from a superelastic, electrically conductive material. In some embodiments,

mating portions

304a and 304b comprise superelastic wire having a diameter between 5 mils and 20 mils.

The construction techniques employed in manufacturing extender module 300 may also be used to form modules of other configurations. Fig. 21A shows header connector 2120 that may be mounted, for example, to a printed circuit board on which module 2130 is formed, which module 2130 may be formed using construction techniques as described above in connection with extender module 300. In this example, the header connector 2120 has the same mating interface as the mating interface of the connector 102 a. In the illustrated embodiment, both have the mating ends of the pairs of signal conductors aligned along parallel lines at a 45 degree angle relative to the column and/or row directions of the mating interface. Thus, the header connector 2120 may mate with a connector in the form of the connector 102 b. However, the mounting interface 2124 of the head connector 2120 is in a different orientation relative to the mating interface than the mounting interface of the connector 102 a. Specifically, the mounting interface 2124 is parallel to the mating interface 2122 rather than perpendicular to the mating interface 2122. The head connector 2120 may be suitable for use in backplanes, midplanes, mezzanines, and other such configurations. For example, the header connectors 2120 may be mounted to a backplane, midplane, or other substrate that is perpendicular to the right angle connectors, such as daughter cards or other printed circuit boards to which the connectors 102b are attached. Alternatively, the header connector 2120 may receive a mezzanine connector having the same mating interface as the connector 102 b. The mating end of the mezzanine connector can face in a first direction and the contact tail of the mezzanine connector can face in a direction opposite the first direction. For example, the mezzanine connector can be mounted to a printed circuit board that is parallel to the substrate on which the head connector 2120 is mounted.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 21A, the head connector 2120 has a housing 2126 that may be formed of an insulating material such as molded plastic. However, some or all of the housing 2126 may be formed from a lossy or conductive material. The floor of the housing 2126 through which the connector module passes may be formed from or include lossy material coupled to the electromagnetic shield of the connector module 2130, for example. As another example, the housing 2126 may be die cast metal or metal plated plastic.

The housing 2126 may have features that enable mating with a connector. In the illustrated embodiment, as with housing 120, housing 2126 has features that enable mating with connector 102 b. Thus, the portion of the housing 2126 that provides the mating interface is as described above in connection with the housing 120 and fig. 2A. The mounting interface 2124 of the housing 2126 is adapted to be mounted to a printed circuit board.

Such a connector may be formed by inserting connector modules 2130 into housing 2126 in rows and columns. Each module may have

mating contacts

2132a and 2132b, which

mating contacts

2132a and 2132b may be shaped similarly to

mating portions

304a and 304b, respectively. The

mating contacts

2132a and 2132b may similarly be made of small diameter superelastic wires.

Fig. 21B illustrates an exemplary connector module 2130 in more detail. As with extender module 300, portions of a pair of conductive elements may be held within an insulating portion (not numbered).

Mating contacts

2132a and 2132b, which may be integral with or separately formed from portions of the conductive elements within the housing and attached to those portions, extend from the mating interface portion of the connector module 2130.

The

contact tails

2134a and 2134b may extend from a mounting interface portion of the connector module 2130. The

contact tails

2134a and 2134b may be integral with portions of the conductive elements within the housing, and the

contact tails

2134a and 2134b may be shaped similarly to the

contact tails

206a and 206b (fig. 17C).

The connector module 2130 may also have electromagnetic shielding members similar to the

electromagnetic shielding members

310a and 310b on the opposite side. The electromagnetic shielding member 2140a is visible in the view of fig. 21B. Complementary shield members (not visible) may be attached to opposite sides of the connector module 2130. The mating ends of the shield members 2140a may be shaped similarly to the mating ends of the

shield members

310a and 310 b. For example, the shielding member 2140a includes a mating contact portion 2144a, and the mating contact portion 2144a may be shaped similar to the mating contact portion 350 a.

The mounting ends of connector module 2130 may be shaped similarly to the mounting ends of connector module 200. Thus, the electromagnetic shielding member may include

contact tails

2142a and 2142b, which

contact tails

2142a and 2142b are shaped and positioned relative to contact

tails

2134a and 2134b in the same manner that electromagnetic shielding tail 220 is shaped and positioned relative to contact

tails

206a and 206 b.

In the embodiment shown in fig. 21A, the pairs of

mating contacts

2132a and 2132b are separated from each other along parallel lines that are angled at about 45 degrees relative to the row and/or column directions. This configuration can be achieved by passing the conductive elements of the connector module 2130 directly so that the

contact tails

2134a and 2134b are in the same plane as the

mating contact portions

2132a and 2132 b. In this configuration, module 2130 would be mounted in housing 2126 with the sides visible at a 45 degree angle relative to the row and column directions in fig. 21B.

Mounting the connector module 2130 by such a 45 degree rotation relative to the row or column direction may produce a footprint similar to that shown in fig. 8. However, each of the mounting locations, such as mounting

locations

194a and 194b, will similarly be rotated 45 degrees relative to the row and column directions. In such a configuration, routing channels may be created in the row direction, as shown in fig. 8. The routing channels may extend at a 45 degree angle with respect to the row direction rather than the routing channels in the column direction.

Alternatively, the connector module 2130 may be configured to provide a footprint as in fig. 8. For example, the mounting interface 2124 may be configured like the mounting interface shown in fig. 7. Such a mounting interface may be achieved by a 45 degree twist in the conductive elements passing through the connector module 2130. In such embodiments, the conductive element may be formed by such twisting and inserted into a portion of the housing having a similarly shaped recess to provide such twisting.

The modularity of the components as described herein may support other connector configurations using the same or similar components. Those connectors can be readily configured to mate with connectors as described herein. For example, fig. 22 illustrates a modular connector in which some of the connector modules are configured to terminate cables, such as twinaxial cables, rather than having contact tails configured to mate with a printed circuit board. In the example of fig. 22, the connector has a wafer assembly 2204, a cable wafer 2206, and a housing 2202. In this example, cable wafers 2206 may be positioned alongside wafers in wafer assembly 2204 and inserted into housing 2202 in the same manner that wafers are inserted into housings 110 or 120 to provide a mating interface with a socket or pin, respectively. In alternative embodiments, the connector of fig. 22 may be only a cable connector, for example, by having only cable wafers 2206, or the connector of fig. 22 may be a hybrid cable connector as shown having wafer assemblies 2204 and cable wafers 2206 side-by-side, or in some embodiments having some modules in wafers with tails configured for attachment to a printed circuit board and other modules with tails configured for terminating cables.

Signals passing through this mating interface of the connector may be coupled to other components within an electronic system that includes the connector 2200 by a cable configuration. Such an electronic system may include a printed circuit board to which connector 2200 is mounted. Signals passing through mating interfaces in modules mounted to the printed circuit board may pass through traces in the printed circuit board to other components also mounted to the printed circuit board. Other signals passing through mating interfaces in cable modules may be routed to other components in the system through cables terminated to those modules. In some systems, the other end of those cables may be connected to components on other printed circuit boards that are not accessible through traces in the printed circuit board.

In other systems, those cables may be connected to components on the same printed circuit board on which other connector modules are mounted. Such a configuration may be useful because the connector as described herein supports signals having frequencies that can reliably pass through the printed circuit board only on relatively short traces. High frequency signals, such as signals carrying 56Gbps or 112Gbps, are significantly attenuated in traces on the order of 6 inches long or longer. Thus, a system may be implemented in which connectors mounted to a printed circuit board have cable connector modules for such high frequency signals, with cables terminated to those cable connector modules also being connected at a mid-plane of the printed circuit board, such as 6 inches or more from an edge or other location on the printed circuit board on which the connector is mounted.

In the example of fig. 22, the pairs at the mating interface do not rotate relative to the row or column direction. Connectors having one or more cable wafers may be implemented by rotation of the mating interface as described above. For example, the mating ends of the pairs of signal conductors may be disposed at a 45 degree angle with respect to the mating row direction and/or the mating column direction. The mating column direction for the connector may be a direction perpendicular to the board mounting interface, and the mating row direction may be a direction parallel to the board mounting interface.

Further, it should be understood that while fig. 22 shows cable connector modules in only one wafer and all wafers having only one type of connector module, neither is a limitation of the modular technology described herein. For example, the top row or rows of connector modules may be cable connector modules, while the remaining rows may have connector modules configured for mounting to a printed circuit board.

Additional exemplary embodiments of the techniques described herein are further described below.

In a first example, a connector module includes a pair of signal conductors, wherein the pair of signal conductors includes a pair of mating ends, a pair of contact tails, and a pair of intermediate portions connecting the pair of mating ends to the pair of contact tails, the pair of mating ends are elongated in a direction at right angles to the direction in which the pair of contact tails are elongated, the mating ends of the pair of mating ends are separated in a direction of a first line, the intermediate portions of the pair of intermediate portions are separated in a direction of a second line, and the first line is disposed at an angle greater than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees with respect to the second line.

In a first example, the first line is disposed at an angle greater than 30 degrees and less than 60 degrees relative to the second line.

In a first example, the first line is disposed at a 45 degree angle relative to the second line.

In a first example, the pair of signal conductors further includes a transition region connecting the pair of intermediate portions and the pair of mating ends, at the transition region a first signal conductor of the pair of signal conductors extends toward a third line, the pair of contact tails are separated along the third line, and a second signal conductor of the pair of signal conductors extends away from the third line.

In a first example, the connector module further includes an electromagnetic shield at least partially surrounding the mating ends of the pair of signal conductors, and the electromagnetic shield defines less than 4.5mm around the mating ends²The area of (a).

In a first example, the electromagnetic shield is imprinted with an outward protrusion proximate the transition region to counteract a change in impedance along a length of the pair of signal conductors associated with a change in shape of the pair of signal conductors along the length.

In a first example, the electromagnetic shield is also stamped with inward projections adjacent the pair of mating ends to reduce a difference between a mating impedance and a partial unmating impedance of the connector module.

In a first example, the electromagnetic shield includes a pair of conductive shield members, each of the conductive shield members including an intermediate portion, a mating portion integral with the intermediate portion, and a transition portion between the mating portion and the intermediate portion, and the transition portion provides a twist in the shield member at an angle of the first line relative to the second line.

In a first example, the connector module further includes a first insulative member supporting the pair of signal conductors, each of the pair of mating ends of the pair of signal conductors including a pair of mating arms separated by a gap, and the first insulative member includes a portion extending beyond the pair of mating ends and including a pair of holes aligned with the gap.

In a first example, the pair of mating ends is configured to: a wire is received through the pair of holes and retained between the pair of engagement arms.

In a first example, the contact tail is configured for insertion into a hole in a substrate.

In a first example, the contact tail is configured for insertion into a hole having a diameter of less than or equal to 20 mils.

In a first example, the contact tails each have a width between 6 mils and 20 mils.

In a first example, the contact tail is configured for insertion into a hole having a diameter of less than or equal to 10 mils.

In a first example, the contact tails each have a width between 6 mils and 10 mils.

In one modification of the first example, the contact tail is configured for electrical connection with a pad of a substrate.

In a first example, the transition region comprises a 45 degree transition of the pair of signal conductors over a length between 1.4mm and 2 mm.

In a first example, the connector module further comprises an insulating portion comprising a first side comprising a first groove and a second side comprising a second groove, a first middle portion of the pair of middle portions being disposed in the first groove and a second middle portion of the pair of middle portions being disposed in the second groove.

In a second example, a wafer includes a plurality of signal conductor pairs, each signal conductor pair including a pair of mating ends, a pair of contact tails, and a pair of middle portions connecting the pair of mating ends to the pair of contact tails, the pair of mating ends of the plurality of signal conductor pairs being positioned in a column along a column direction, the middle portions of the pair of middle portions of the plurality of signal conductor pairs being aligned in a direction perpendicular to the column direction and positioned for broadside coupling, and the mating ends of the plurality of signal conductor pairs being separated along a line disposed at an angle greater than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees relative to the column direction.

In a second example, the lines are disposed at an angle greater than 30 degrees and less than 60 degrees with respect to the column direction.

In a second example, the lines are arranged at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the column direction.

In a second example, the wafer further includes a housing supporting the plurality of signal conductor pairs.

In a second example, each of the plurality of signal conductor pairs includes a plurality of connector modules, each of the plurality of connector modules further including an electromagnetic shield disposed about the signal conductor pair, wherein a portion of the electromagnetic shield at least partially surrounds the mating end of the signal conductor pair, and a portion of the electromagnetic shield is rectangular having a width less than 2mm and a length less than 3.8 mm.

In a second example, the housing includes a first housing member including a plurality of recesses, and a connector module of the plurality of connector modules is disposed within a recess of the plurality of recesses.

In a second example, the housing is formed of a lossy conductive material.

In a second example, the column direction is a mating interface column direction, the pairs of contact tails of the plurality of signal conductor pairs being positioned in columns along the mounting interface column direction; and the contact tails in the pair of contact tails are separated in a mounting interface row direction that is perpendicular to the mounting interface column direction.

In a second example, the mating interface column direction is orthogonal to the mounting interface column direction.

In a second example, the pair of contact tails are configured to be inserted into holes having a diameter less than or equal to 20 mils.

In a second example, each contact tail of the pair of contact tails has a width between 6 mils and 20 mils.

In a second example, the pair of contact tails are configured to be inserted into holes having a diameter less than or equal to 10 mils.

In a second example, each contact tail of the pair of contact tails has a width between 6 mils and 10 mils.

In a second example, a center-to-center spacing between adjacent pairs of contact tails in the mounting interface column direction is less than or equal to 5 mm.

In a second example, a center-to-center spacing between adjacent pairs of contact tails in the mounting interface column direction is less than or equal to 2.4 mm.

In a second example, the mounting interface row direction is orthogonal to the mounting interface column direction.

In a third example, a connector includes a plurality of signal conductor pairs. For each of the plurality of signal conductor pairs, the signal conductor pair including a pair of mating ends, a pair of contact tails, and a pair of intermediate portions connecting the pair of mating ends to the pair of contact tails, the signal conductor pair further including a transition region between the pair of mating ends and the pair of intermediate portions, the pair of mating ends of the plurality of signal conductor pairs being disposed in an array including a plurality of rows extending along a row direction and being spaced apart from each other in a column direction perpendicular to the row direction, the pair of mating ends of the plurality of signal conductor pairs being aligned along a first parallel line disposed at an angle greater than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees relative to the row direction, and for each of the plurality of signal conductor pairs, the relative positions of the signal conductors of the signal conductor pairs within the transition region varying, such that at a first end of the transition region adjacent the mating end, the signal conductors are aligned along a line of the first parallel line, and at a second end of the transition region, the signal conductors are aligned in the row direction.

In a third example, the first parallel lines are disposed at an angle greater than 30 degrees and less than 60 degrees relative to the row direction.

In a third example, the first parallel lines are disposed at a 45 degree angle relative to the row direction.

In a third example, each pair of intermediate portions is broadside-coupled, and wherein each pair of contact tails is broadside-coupled.

In a third example, the pairs of contact tails of the plurality of signal conductor pairs are arranged in a second array, and the second array includes columns of pairs of contact tails extending along a third direction.

In a third example, the third direction is orthogonal to the row direction.

In a third example, the third direction is perpendicular to both the column direction and the row direction.

In a third example, each of the plurality of signal conductor pairs further includes a second transition region within which the relative positions of the signal conductors of the signal conductor pair vary such that at a first end of the second transition region adjacent the contact tail, the pair of signal conductors are aligned along a second parallel line that is parallel to the third direction, and at a second end of the transition region adjacent the intermediate portion, the pair of signal conductors are aligned along a third parallel line that is disposed at an angle greater than 45 degrees and less than 135 degrees relative to the third direction.

In a third example, the second parallel line is disposed at an angle greater than 80 degrees and less than 100 degrees relative to the third direction.

In a third example, the second parallel line is perpendicular to the third direction.

In a third example, the second parallel line is parallel to the row direction.

In a third example, an electronic assembly includes a connector, the electronic assembly in combination with: a first printed circuit board including a first edge, wherein the connector is a first connector and a contact tail of the first connector is mounted to the first printed circuit board adjacent the first edge; a second printed circuit board; and a second connector mounted to the second printed circuit board and configured to mate with the first connector.

In a third example, the contact tails of the first connector are inserted into holes in the first printed circuit board.

In a modification of the third example, the contact tails of the first connector are mounted to pads on a surface of the first printed circuit board.

In a third example, the contact tails of the first connector are pressed into holes of the first printed circuit board having an uncoated diameter of less than or equal to 20 mils.

In a third example, the contact tail of the first connector has a width between 6 mils and 20 mils.

In a third example, the contact tails of the first connector are pressed into holes of the first printed circuit board having an uncoated diameter of between 6 mils and 12 mils.

In a third example, the contact tail of the first connector has a width between 6 mils and 12 mils.

In a third example, the first printed circuit board includes a first layer and a second layer, a trace fabricated on the first layer and extending in a first direction is connected to a first contact tail of the pair of contact tails of the first connector, and a trace fabricated on the second layer and extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction is connected to a second contact tail of the pair of contact tails of the first connector.

In a third example, the second array includes pairs of contact tails of the first connector, the pairs of contact tails being arranged in a repeating pattern, wherein a center-to-center spacing between adjacent pairs of contact tails in the third direction is less than or equal to 5mm, and a center-to-center spacing between adjacent pairs of contact tails in a direction perpendicular to the third direction is less than or equal to 5 mm.

In a third example, the second array includes pairs of contact tails of the first connector, the pairs of contact tails being arranged in a repeating pattern, wherein a center-to-center spacing between adjacent pairs of contact tails in the third direction is less than or equal to 2.4mm, and a center-to-center spacing between adjacent pairs of contact tails in a direction perpendicular to the third direction is less than or equal to 2.4 mm.

In a third example, the first printed circuit board is perpendicular to the second printed circuit board.

In a third example, a surface of the second printed circuit board faces the mating end of the first connector.

In a third example, the mating end of the first connector extends in a first direction, the contact tail of the first connector extends in a second direction, and a surface of the second printed circuit board faces a direction perpendicular to the first and second directions.

In a third example, the second connector further includes a plurality of signal conductor pairs, each of the plurality of signal conductor pairs including a pair of mating ends, a pair of contact tails, a pair of intermediate portions connecting the pair of mating ends to the pair of contact tails, and a transition region between the pair of mating ends and the pair of intermediate portions, the mating ends of the plurality of signal conductor pairs being arranged in a first array including a plurality of rows extending along the row direction and spaced apart from each other in a column direction perpendicular to the row direction, the signal conductors of the signal conductor pairs being aligned along a first parallel line, the first parallel line being arranged at an angle greater than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees relative to the row direction, and the relative positions of the signal conductors of the signal conductor pairs varying within the transition region, such that at a first end of the transition region adjacent the mating end, the signal conductors are aligned along the first parallel line, and at an end of the transition region, the signal conductors are aligned in the row direction.

In a third example, the second connector further includes a plurality of extender modules, each extender module of the plurality of extender modules including a pair of signal conductors, each signal conductor having a first portion and a second portion, the second portions of the plurality of extender modules being mounted to the mating ends of the plurality of signal conductors of the second connector, the first portions of the plurality of extender modules being configured to be received in the mating end of the first connector, and the pairs of signal conductors of the plurality of extender modules each being elongated in a straight line from the first portion to the second portion.

In a third example, the electronic component is further configured to: transmitting data from the first connector to the second connector at a rate of about 112 Gb/s.

In a third example, the electronic component is further configured to: operating at a bandwidth of about 50GHz to 60 GHz.

In a fourth example, a connector module includes an insulative member and a pair of signal conductors held by the insulative member, wherein each of the pair of signal conductors includes a first portion at a first end, a second portion at a second end extending from the insulative portion, and an intermediate portion disposed between the first and second ends, and the first portion includes a wire having a diameter between 5 mils and 20 mils.

In a fourth example, the wire is a superelastic wire.

In a fourth example, the superelastic wire of each of the pair of signal conductors is brazed to the intermediate portion of the signal conductor.

In a fourth example, the connector module further includes an electromagnetic shield at least partially surrounding the intermediate portion of the pair of signal conductors, and the electromagnetic shield defines the first portion peripheryLess than 4.5mm²The area of (a).

In a fourth example, the electromagnetic shield is stamped with an outward projection adjacent the first end so as to counteract a change in impedance along a length of the pair of signal conductors associated with a change in shape of the pair of signal conductors along the length.

In a fourth example, the electromagnetic shield member is further stamped with an inward projection adjacent a distal end of the first portion to reduce a difference between a fully mated impedance and a partially unmated impedance of the connector module.

In a fourth example, the electromagnetic shielding member comprises a conductive shield.

In a fourth example, the second portion comprises a superelastic wire having a width between 5 mils and 20 mils.

In a fourth example, the diameter of the superelastic wire is less than 12 mils.

In a fourth example, the superelastic wire is configured for insertion into a hole having a diameter less than or equal to 10 mils.

In a fourth example, the mating force of the superelastic wire is between 25gm and 45 gm.

In a modification of the fourth example, the mating force of the superelastic wire is between 30gm and 40 gm.

In a fourth example, the second portion includes a press-fit member.

In a fourth example, a cross-section of the press-fit member has a serpentine shape.

In a fourth example, an electrical connector includes a plurality of connector modules arranged in a plurality of parallel rows extending in a row direction.

In a fourth example, the change in impedance between the fully mated configuration and the partially unmated configuration of the first portion is less than 5 ohms at 20 GHz.

In a fourth example, the second portion of the connector modules of the plurality of connector modules includes contact tails, pairs of the contact tails are arranged in a repeating pattern in a second plurality of rows extending along a first direction and are positioned along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, wherein a center-to-center spacing between adjacent pairs of the contact tails in the first direction is less than or equal to 2.5mm, and a center-to-center spacing between adjacent pairs of the contact tails in the second direction perpendicular to the first direction is less than or equal to 2.5 mm.

In a fourth example, the second portions of the plurality of connector modules include contact tails, pairs of the contact tails are arranged in a repeating pattern in a second plurality of rows extending along a first direction and are positioned along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, wherein a center-to-center spacing between adjacent pairs of the contact tails in the first direction is less than or equal to 2.4mm and a center-to-center spacing between adjacent pairs of the contact tails in the second direction perpendicular to the first direction is less than or equal to 2.4 mm.

In a fourth example, the first portions of each signal conductor pair of the plurality of connector modules are aligned along a first parallel line disposed at a 45 degree angle relative to the row direction.

In a fourth example, the total impedance of each connector module is between 90 ohms and 100 ohms in the range of 45GHz to 50 GHz.

In a fifth example, an extender module comprises: a pair of signal conductors, each signal conductor of the pair of signal conductors including a first portion at a first end and a second portion at a second end; and an electromagnetic shield at least partially surrounding the pair of signal conductors, a first portion of the pair of signal conductors configured as a mating portion and positioned along a first line, a second portion of the pair of signal conductors configured to compress when inserted into the hole and positioned along a second line parallel to the first line.

In a fifth example, the electromagnetic shield comprises a conductive shield.

In a fifth example, the second portion is "S" shaped in cross-section.

In a fifth example, the second portion is configured for insertion into an interface hole having a diameter less than or equal to 20 mils.

In a fifth example, the width of the second portion is between 6 mils and 20 mils.

In a fifth example, the second portion is configured for insertion into an interface hole having a diameter of less than or equal to 10 mils.

In a fifth example, the width of the second portion is between 6 mils and 10 mils.

In a fifth example, a connector includes: an insulating portion and a plurality of signal conductors supported by the insulating portion, each of the plurality of signal conductors having a mating portion defining an interface hole; and a plurality of extender modules having second portions of the signal conductors inserted into the interface holes.

In a fifth example, the plurality of extender modules further comprises a plurality of signal conductor pairs having pairs of second portions each aligned along a first parallel line, the plurality of signal conductors further comprises a plurality of signal conductor pairs having pairs of intermediate portions and pairs of mating portions connected by a transition region, the signal conductors in each signal conductor pair being aligned along the first parallel line at a first portion of the transition region adjacent the pair of mating portions and the signal conductors being aligned along a second parallel line at a second portion of the transition region adjacent the pair of intermediate portions, the second parallel line being disposed at a 45 degree angle relative to the first parallel line.

In a sixth example, a connector includes: an insulating section; a plurality of signal conductors held by the insulating portion; and a plurality of shield members, the plurality of signal conductors including elongated mating portions extending from the insulative portion, the plurality of signal conductors including a plurality of pairs of signal conductors, the plurality of pairs of signal conductors being arranged in a plurality of rows extending in a row direction, the plurality of shield members at least partially surrounding the pairs of pairs, and the mating portions of the pairs being separated along a first parallel line disposed at a 45 degree angle relative to the row direction.

In a sixth example, the plurality of shield members comprises conductive shields.

In a sixth example, the insulating portion includes a planar portion having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface, the mating portion extends in a direction perpendicular to the first surface, and the signal conductor further includes a tail extending through the second surface.

In a sixth example, the contact tails are arranged in a repeating pattern in a second plurality of rows extending along a first direction and are positioned along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, wherein a center-to-center spacing between adjacent pairs of contact tails in the first direction is less than or equal to 5mm and a center-to-center spacing between adjacent pairs of contact tails in the second direction perpendicular to the first direction is less than or equal to 5 mm.

In a sixth example, the contact tails are arranged in a repeating pattern in a second plurality of rows extending along a first direction and are positioned along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, wherein a center-to-center spacing between adjacent pairs of contact tails in the first direction is less than or equal to 2.4mm and a center-to-center spacing between adjacent pairs of contact tails in the second direction perpendicular to the first direction is less than or equal to 2.4 mm.

In a sixth example, the contact tail is configured for insertion into a hole having a diameter less than or equal to 20 mils.

In a sixth example, the contact tail has a width between 6 mils and 20 mils.

In a sixth example, the contact tail is configured for insertion into a hole having a diameter less than or equal to 10 mils.

In a sixth example, the contact tail has a width between 6 mils and 10 mils.

In a sixth example, the plurality of pairs of signal conductors further includes an intermediate portion connected to the mating portion by a transition region, the signal conductors in each pair of signal conductors being separated along the first parallel line at a first portion of the transition region adjacent the mating portion and the signal conductors being separated along a second parallel line parallel to the row direction at a second portion of the transition region adjacent the intermediate portion.

It should be appreciated that aspects of each of the examples described above may be combined in a single embodiment.

Having thus described several aspects of at least one embodiment of this invention, it is to be appreciated various alterations, modifications, and improvements will readily occur to those skilled in the art.

For example, fig. 23 shows a pair of signal conductors 260' having angled mating interfaces, as described above in connection with signal conductors 260. Similar to signal conductor 260, signal conductor 260 ' has broadside-coupled intermediate portions 264a ' and 264b '. Unlike signal conductors 260, signal conductors 260 'have broadside-coupled contact tails 266 a' and 266b ', which contact tails 266 a' and 266b 'are separated along line 144', which line 144 'is parallel to the row direction of the board mounting interface of the connector that includes signal conductors 260'. The signal conductors as shown in fig. 23 may be combined with connectors using techniques as described herein.

For example, signal

conductors

260a and 260b are depicted as being configured to carry differential signals. In other embodiments, the module 200 may contain conductors configured to carry single-ended electrical signals. For example, one signal conductor may carry a signal while another signal conductor may be grounded. Alternatively, in some embodiments, a single signal conductor may be used in place of the pair of

signal conductors

260a and 260b in some embodiments, with the ground reference being carried by the electromagnetic shield.

As another example, the attachment of the extender module 300 to the connector module using a press-fit connection is described. Other forms of attachment may be used, including the same separable contacts at both ends of the extender module or other forms of fixed attachment such as welding or soldering.

Furthermore, the electrical connectors 102 a-102 d described herein may be adapted for use in any suitable configuration, such as a backplane or midplane. For example, in a backplane configuration, the first and

second connectors

102a, 102b may be mated along the same direction with one of the first and second

contact tail arrays

136a, 136b facing and the other contact tail array facing oppositely. Alternatively, the surface of the substrate 104c on which the first contact tail array 136a is mounted and the surface of the substrate 104d on which the second contact tail array 136b is mounted may be parallel to each other. In another configuration, the first and second

contact tail arrays

136a, 136b may face a first direction, wherein the first and

second connectors

102a, 102b are configured to mate along a direction perpendicular to the first direction.

It should be understood that in some embodiments, rather than having separate

outer insulative members

280a and 280b and inner insulative member 230, connector module 200 may include a single insulative member. In some embodiments, the connector module 200 includes one insulative member in place of the

outer insulative members

280a and 280b, and also includes the inner insulative member 230. In some embodiments, the dielectric constant of the outer insulating

members

280a and 280b may be different from the dielectric constant of the inner insulating member 230. Alternatively, the

outer insulation members

280a and 280b and the inner insulation member 230 have substantially the same dielectric constant.

It should be understood that the mating end 262 may include alternative mating features such as pins, compliant beams, or wires instead of the

compliant receptacles

270a and 270 b. Likewise, the

contact tails

266a and 266b may alternatively be configured for mounting to conductive pads on a surface of, for example, a printed circuit board, in other ways than press-fitting.

As yet another example, a transition region is described in which there is a twist of 45 degrees or 90 degrees. Other amounts of twist are also possible in the transition region. In some embodiments, the parallel lines 138 are disposed at an angle greater than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees relative to the mating row direction 142 or the mating column direction 140. In some embodiments, the parallel lines 138 are disposed at an angle greater than 30 degrees and less than 60 degrees relative to the mating row direction 142 or the mating row direction 140. In some embodiments, the parallel lines 138 are parallel to the mating column direction 140 or the mating row direction 142.

Likewise, in some embodiments, the contact tail row direction 146 can be disposed at an angle greater than 45 degrees and less than 135 degrees relative to the contact tail column direction 144. In some embodiments, the contact tail row direction 146 can be disposed at an angle greater than 80 degrees and less than 100 degrees relative to the contact tail column direction 144. In the illustrated embodiment, the contact tail row direction 146 is perpendicular to the contact tail column direction 144. However, in some embodiments, contact tail row direction 146 is parallel to contact tail column direction 144.

Further, the twist in each of the two mating connectors may be the same or may be different in angular amount. Furthermore, the twist in each of the two mating connectors may be in the same direction or in opposite directions. For example, in the embodiment shown in fig. 16A, the torsion is in a clockwise direction from the contact tails 266A and 266b to the

intermediate portions

264a and 264 b. Twisting again in a clockwise direction from the

middle portions

264a and 264b to the mating ends 262a and 262 b. One or both of such torsions may be in a counterclockwise direction, and the direction of torsion in each transition region 268a and/or 268b may be the same or different in the mating connector. For example, the twist in the transition region 268a from the

intermediate portions

264a and 264b to the mating ends 262a and 262b may be reversed in each of the two mating connectors to support the parallel board connector configuration.

As an example of another variation, the pair of signal conductors may be configured without any twist in the pair. The mating interfaces of each pair may be angled, for example, 45 degrees with respect to the mating interface row direction. The tails of each pair may be at the same angle relative to the row direction of the mounting interface. Such a configuration may be used for mezzanine connectors or other suitable types of connectors and may allow the footprint of the connector to occupy a smaller surface area of the printed circuit board to which the connector is mounted.

It should be understood that in some embodiments, the contact tails of the third contact tail array 136c are configured for insertion into holes having a diameter less than or equal to 20 mils. In some embodiments, the contact tails of the third contact tail array 136c are configured for insertion into holes having a diameter less than or equal to 10 mils. In some embodiments, the contact tails of the third contact tail array 136c each have a width between 6 mils and 20 mils. In some embodiments, the contact tails of the third contact tail array 136c each have a width between 6 mils and 10 mils.

As another example of a possible variation, the extender module 300 is shown with two electromagnetic shielding members covering two opposite sides of the module. Alternatively, the electromagnetic shield may be implemented with a shielding member covering or partially covering 3 sides or all 4 sides of the module. In some embodiments, the electromagnetic shielding member partially covers some or all sides with a gap on the partially covered sides. Such a shielding configuration may be implemented with one or more shielding members.

As another possible variation, it should be understood that while some embodiments described herein include

second portions

306a and 306b of extender module 300 implemented with contact tails, in some embodiments,

second portions

306a and 306b may be shaped like

mating portions

304a and 304 b. The mating portion may include pins configured to extend through holes of the extension 234, and the mating portion may be sized to fit between the

arms

272a and 272b of the

compliant receptacles

270a and 270b so that the pins may be removed from the

compliant receptacles

270a and 270b without damaging either connector.

Such alterations, modifications, and improvements are intended to be part of this disclosure, and are intended to be within the spirit and scope of the invention. Moreover, while advantages of the invention are pointed out, it will be understood that not every embodiment of the invention will include every described advantage. Some implementations may not implement, and in some cases may not implement, any features described herein as advantageous. Accordingly, the foregoing description and drawings are by way of example only.

Various aspects of the present invention may be used alone, in combination, or in a variety of arrangements not specifically discussed in the embodiments described in the foregoing and is therefore not limited in its application to the details and arrangement of components set forth in the foregoing description or illustrated in the drawings. For example, aspects described in one embodiment may be combined in any manner with aspects described in other embodiments.

Furthermore, the present invention may be implemented as a method providing examples. The acts performed as part of the method may be ordered in any suitable way. Thus, embodiments may be constructed in which acts are performed in an order different than illustrated, and which may include performing some acts simultaneously, even though shown as sequential acts in illustrative embodiments.

Use of ordinal terms such as "first," "second," "third," etc., in the claims to modify a claim element does not by itself connote any priority, precedence, or order of one claim element over another or the temporal order in which acts of a method are performed, but are used merely as labels to distinguish one claim element having a certain name from another element having a same name (but for use of the ordinal term) to distinguish the claim elements.

As defined and used herein, all definitions should be understood to control over dictionary definitions, definitions in documents incorporated by reference, and/or ordinary meanings of the defined terms.

The indefinite articles "a" and "an" as used herein in the specification and the claims are to be understood as meaning "at least one" unless explicitly indicated to the contrary.

As used herein in the specification and claims, the phrase "at least one," when referring to a list of one or more elements, should be understood to mean at least one element selected from any one or more of the elements in the list of elements, but not necessarily including each element or at least one of each element specifically listed within the list of elements, and not excluding any combinations of elements in the list of elements. The definition also allows that elements may optionally be present other than the elements specifically identified within the list of elements to which the phrase "at least one" refers, whether related or unrelated to those elements specifically identified.

As used herein in the specification and claims, the phrase "and/or" should be understood to mean "either or both" of the elements so combined, i.e., elements that are present in combination in some cases and elements that are present in isolation in other cases. Multiple elements listed with "and/or" should be interpreted in the same manner, i.e., "one or more" of the elements so combined. Other elements may optionally be present in addition to the elements explicitly identified by the "and/or" clause, whether related or unrelated to those elements explicitly identified. Thus, as a non-limiting example, when used with an open-ended word such as "comprising," references to "a and/or B" may refer in one embodiment to a only (optionally including elements other than B); in another embodiment, to B only (optionally including elements other than a); in yet another embodiment to both a and B (optionally including other elements); and so on.

As used herein in the specification and claims, "or" should be understood to have the same meaning as "and/or" as defined above. For example, when items in a list are separated, "or" and/or "should be understood as being inclusive, i.e., including at least one of the plurality of elements or list of elements, but also including more than one of the plurality of elements or list of elements, and optionally including other unlisted items. To explicitly specify only the opposite terms such as "one of only … …" or "exactly one of … …" or "consisting of … …" when used in the claims will refer to including exactly one element of a plurality or list of elements. In general, the term "or" as used herein, when preceded by an exclusive term such as "either," "one of … …," "only one of … …," or "just one of … …," should only be construed as indicating an exclusive alternative (i.e., "one or the other, but not both"). "consisting essentially of" when used in a claim shall have its ordinary meaning as used in the art of patent law.

Also, the phraseology and terminology used herein is for the purpose of description and should not be regarded as limiting. The use of "including," "comprising," or "having," "containing," "involving," and variations thereof herein, is meant to encompass the items listed thereafter and equivalents thereof as well as additional items.

Claims

1. A connector module, comprising:

a pair of signal conductors, wherein:

the pair of signal conductors includes a pair of mating ends, a pair of contact tails, and a pair of intermediate portions connecting the pair of mating ends to the pair of contact tails;

the pair of mating ends are elongated in a direction at right angles to the direction in which the pair of contact tails are elongated; and

the mating ends of the pair of mating ends are separated in a direction of a first line;

an intermediate portion of the pair of intermediate portions is separated in a direction of the second line;

the first line is disposed at an angle greater than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees with respect to the second line.

2. The connector module of claim 1, wherein:

the first line is disposed at an angle greater than 30 degrees and less than 60 degrees relative to the second line.

3. The connector module of claim 2, wherein:

the first line is disposed at an angle of 45 degrees with respect to the second line.

4. The connector module of claim 3, wherein:

the pair of signal conductors further includes a transition region connecting the pair of intermediate portions and the pair of mating ends where a first signal conductor of the pair of signal conductors extends toward a third line along which the pair of contact tails are separated, an

A second signal conductor of the pair of signal conductors extends away from the third line.

5. The connector module of claim 3, further comprising an electromagnetic shield at least partially surrounding the mating ends of the pair of signal conductors, and wherein the electromagnetic shield defines less than 4.5mm around the mating ends²The area of (a).

6. The connector module of claim 5, wherein the electromagnetic shield is embossed with outward protrusions adjacent the transition region so as to counteract changes in impedance along the length of the pair of signal conductors associated with changes in shape of the pair of signal conductors along the length.

7. The connector module of claim 6, wherein the electromagnetic shield is further stamped with inward projections adjacent the pair of mating ends to reduce a difference between a mating impedance and a partial unmating impedance of the connector module.

8. The connector module of claim 7, wherein:

the electromagnetic shield includes a pair of conductive shield members;

each of the conductive shield members includes an intermediate portion, a mating portion integral with the intermediate portion, and a transition portion between the mating portion and the intermediate portion; and

the transition provides a twist in the shield member at an angle of the first line relative to the second line.

9. The connector module of claim 3, further comprising a first insulating member supporting the pair of signal conductors, and wherein:

each of the pair of mating ends of the pair of signal conductors includes a pair of mating arms separated by a gap; and

the first insulative member includes a portion that extends beyond the pair of mating ends and includes a pair of apertures that are aligned with the gaps.

10. The connector module of claim 9, wherein:

the pair of mating ends is configured to: a wire is received through the pair of holes and retained between the pair of engagement arms.

11. The connector module of claim 3, wherein the contact tails are configured for insertion into holes in a substrate.

12. The connector module of claim 11, wherein the contact tails are configured for insertion into holes having a diameter less than or equal to 20 mils.

13. The connector module of claim 12, wherein the contact tails each have a width between 6 mils and 20 mils.

14. The connector module of claim 11, wherein the contact tails are configured for insertion into holes having a diameter less than or equal to 10 mils.

15. The connector module of claim 14, wherein the contact tails each have a width between 6 mils and 10 mils.

16. The connector module of claim 3, wherein the contact tail is configured for electrical connection with a pad of a substrate.

17. The connector module of claim 4, wherein the transition region comprises a 45 degree transition of the pair of signal conductors over a length between 1.4mm and 2 mm.

18. The connector module of claim 1, further comprising:

an insulating portion comprising a first side and a second side, wherein the first side comprises a first groove and the second side comprises a second groove, and wherein a first middle portion of the pair of middle portions is disposed in the first groove and a second middle portion of the pair of middle portions is disposed in the second groove.

19. A sheeting, comprising:

a plurality of signal conductor pairs, each signal conductor pair including a pair of mating ends, a pair of contact tails, and a pair of intermediate portions connecting the pair of mating ends to the pair of contact tails,

wherein:

the pair of mating ends of the plurality of signal conductor pairs are positioned in a column along a column direction;

a middle portion of the pairs of middle portions of the plurality of signal conductor pairs is aligned in a direction perpendicular to the column direction and positioned for broadside coupling; and

the mating ends of the plurality of signal conductor pairs are separated along a line disposed at an angle greater than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees relative to the column direction.

20. The wafer of claim 19, wherein:

the lines are disposed at an angle greater than 30 degrees and less than 60 degrees with respect to the column direction.

21. The lamina of claim 19 wherein the lines are disposed at an angle of 45 degrees relative to the column direction.

22. The wafer of claim 21, further comprising a housing supporting the plurality of signal conductor pairs.

23. The wafer of claim 21, wherein each of the plurality of signal conductor pairs comprises a plurality of connector modules, each of the plurality of connector modules further comprising:

an electromagnetic shield disposed around the pair of signal conductors, wherein a portion of the electromagnetic shield at least partially surrounds the mating ends of the signal conductors of the pair of signal conductors and is rectangular with a width of less than 2mm and a length of less than 3.8 mm.

24. The wafer of claim 23, wherein:

the housing comprises a first housing member comprising a plurality of grooves; and

a connector module of the plurality of connector modules is disposed within a recess of the plurality of recesses.

25. The wafer of claim 24, wherein the housing is formed of a lossy conductive material.

26. The wafer of claim 21, wherein:

the row direction is a matching interface row direction;

the pairs of contact tails of the plurality of signal conductor pairs are positioned in columns along a mounting interface column direction; and

the contact tails in the pair of contact tails are separated in a mounting interface row direction that is perpendicular to the mounting interface column direction.

27. The wafer of claim 26, wherein the mating interface column direction is orthogonal to the mounting interface column direction.

28. The wafer of claim 21, wherein the pair of contact tails are configured to be inserted into holes having a diameter less than or equal to 20 mils.

29. The lamina of claim 28 wherein each contact tail of the pair of contact tails has a width between 6 mils and 20 mils.

30. The wafer of claim 21, wherein the pair of contact tails are configured to be inserted into holes having a diameter less than or equal to 10 mils.

31. The lamina of claim 30 wherein each contact tail of the pair of contact tails has a width between 6 mils and 10 mils.

32. The wafer of claim 26, wherein a center-to-center spacing between adjacent pairs of contact tails in the mounting interface column direction is less than or equal to 5 mm.

33. The wafer of claim 26, wherein a center-to-center spacing between adjacent pairs of contact tails in the mounting interface column direction is less than or equal to 2.4 mm.

34. The electrical connector of claim 26, wherein the mounting interface row direction is orthogonal to the mounting interface column direction.

35. A connector, comprising:

a plurality of signal conductor pairs, wherein, for each signal conductor pair of the plurality of signal conductor pairs:

the pair of signal conductors including a pair of mating ends, a pair of contact tails, and a pair of intermediate portions connecting the pair of mating ends to the pair of contact tails,

the pair of signal conductors further includes a transition region between the pair of mating ends and the pair of intermediate portions, wherein:

the pair of mating ends of the plurality of signal conductor pairs are arranged in an array comprising a plurality of rows extending along a row direction and spaced apart from each other in a column direction perpendicular to the row direction;

the pair of mating ends of the plurality of signal conductor pairs are aligned along a first parallel line disposed at an angle greater than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees relative to the row direction; and

for each of the plurality of signal conductor pairs, the relative positions of the signal conductors of the signal conductor pair within the transition region vary such that at a first end of the transition region adjacent the mating end, the signal conductors are aligned along a line of the first parallel line and at a second end of the transition region, the signal conductors are aligned in the row direction.

36. The connector of claim 35, wherein the first parallel line is disposed at an angle greater than 30 degrees and less than 60 degrees relative to the row direction.

37. The connector of claim 35, wherein the first parallel line is disposed at a 45 degree angle relative to the row direction.

38. The connector of claim 35, wherein each pair of intermediate portions is broadside-coupled, and wherein each pair of contact tails is broadside-coupled.

39. The connector of claim 35, wherein:

the paired contact tails of the plurality of signal conductor pairs are arranged in a second array;

the second array includes columns of the pair of contact tails extending along a third direction.

40. The connector of claim 39, wherein the third direction is orthogonal to the row direction.

41. The connector of claim 40, wherein the third direction is perpendicular to both the column direction and the row direction.

42. The connector of claim 40, wherein:

each of the plurality of signal conductor pairs further includes a second transition region;

within the second transition region, the relative positions of the signal conductors of the pair of signal conductors vary such that at a first end of the second transition region adjacent the contact tail, the pair of signal conductors are aligned along a second parallel line that is parallel to the third direction, and at a second end of the transition region adjacent the intermediate portion, the pair of signal conductors are aligned along a third parallel line that is disposed at an angle greater than 45 degrees and less than 135 degrees relative to the third direction.

43. The connector of claim 42, wherein the second parallel line is disposed at an angle greater than 80 degrees and less than 100 degrees relative to the third direction.

44. The connector of claim 42, wherein the second parallel line is perpendicular to the third direction.

45. The connector of claim 42, wherein the second parallel line is parallel to the row direction.

46. An electronic assembly comprising the connector of claim 40, in combination with:

a first printed circuit board including a first edge, wherein the connector is a first connector and a contact tail of the first connector is mounted to the first printed circuit board adjacent the first edge;

a second printed circuit board;

a second connector mounted to the second printed circuit board and configured to mate with the first connector.

47. The electronic assembly of claim 46, wherein the contact tail of the first connector is inserted into a hole of the first printed circuit board.

48. The electronic assembly of claim 46, wherein the contact tails of the first connector are mounted to pads on a surface of the first printed circuit board.

49. The electronic assembly of claim 47, wherein the contact tail of the first connector is pressed into a hole of the first printed circuit board having an unplated diameter of less than or equal to 20 mils.

50. The electronic assembly of claim 49, wherein the contact tail of the first connector has a width of between 6 mils and 20 mils.

51. The electronic assembly of claim 47, wherein the contact tail of the first connector is pressed into a hole of the first printed circuit board having an uncoated diameter of between 6 mils and 12 mils.

52. The electronic assembly of claim 51, wherein the contact tail of the first connector has a width of between 6 mils and 12 mils.

53. The electronic component of claim 46, wherein:

the first printed circuit board includes a first layer and a second layer;

a trace fabricated on the first layer and extending in a first direction is connected to a first contact tail of the pair of contact tails of the first connector; and

traces fabricated on the second layer and extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction are connected to a second contact tail of the pair of contact tails of the first connector.

54. The electronic assembly of claim 46, wherein the second array comprises pairs of contact tails of the first connector, the pairs of contact tails being arranged in a repeating pattern, wherein:

a center-to-center spacing between adjacent pairs of contact tails in the third direction is less than or equal to 5 mm; and

a center-to-center spacing between adjacent pairs of contact tails in a direction perpendicular to the third direction is less than or equal to 5 mm.

55. The electronic assembly of claim 46, wherein the second array comprises pairs of contact tails of the first connector, the pairs of contact tails being arranged in a repeating pattern, wherein:

a center-to-center spacing between adjacent pairs of contact tails in the third direction is less than or equal to 2.4 mm; and

a center-to-center spacing between adjacent pairs of contact tails in a direction perpendicular to the third direction is less than or equal to 2.4 mm.

56. The electronic assembly of claim 46, wherein the first printed circuit board is perpendicular to the second printed circuit board.

57. The electronic assembly of claim 46, wherein a surface of the second printed circuit board faces the mating end of the first connector.

58. The electronic component of claim 46, wherein:

the mating end of the first connector extending in a first direction;

the contact tail of the first connector extends in a second direction; and

a surface of the second printed circuit board faces a direction perpendicular to the first direction and the second direction.

59. The electronic assembly of claim 46, wherein the second connector further comprises:

a plurality of signal conductor pairs, each signal conductor pair of the plurality of signal conductor pairs comprising a pair of mating ends, a pair of contact tails, a pair of intermediate portions connecting the pair of mating ends to the pair of contact tails, and a transition region between the pair of mating ends and the pair of intermediate portions, wherein:

the mating ends of the plurality of signal conductor pairs are arranged in a first array comprising a plurality of rows extending along the row direction and spaced apart from each other in a column direction perpendicular to the row direction; and

the signal conductors of the pair of signal conductors are aligned along a first parallel line disposed at an angle greater than 0 degrees and less than 90 degrees relative to the row direction;

within the transition region, the relative positions of the signal conductors of the signal conductor pair vary such that at a first end of the transition region adjacent the mating end, the signal conductors are aligned along the first parallel line and at an end of the transition region, the signal conductors are aligned in the row direction.

60. The electronic assembly of claim 46, wherein the second connector further comprises a plurality of extender modules, each extender module of the plurality of extender modules comprising:

a pair of signal conductors, each signal conductor having a first portion and a second portion; and

wherein:

the second portions of the plurality of extender modules are mounted to the mating ends of the plurality of signal conductors of the second connector;

a first portion of the plurality of extender modules configured to be received in the mating end of the first connector; and

the pairs of signal conductors of the plurality of extender modules are each elongated in a straight line from the first portion to the second portion.

61. The electronic component of claim 46, further configured to transmit data from the first connector to the second connector at a rate of approximately 112 Gb/s.

62. The connector of claim 35, further configured to operate at a bandwidth of approximately 50GHz to 60 GHz.

63. A connector module, comprising:

an insulating member; and

a pair of signal conductors held by the insulating member, wherein each of the pair of signal conductors includes a first portion at a first end, a second portion at a second end extending from the insulating portion, and an intermediate portion disposed between the first end and the second end, and the first portion includes a wire having a diameter between 5 mils and 20 mils.

64. The connector module of claim 63, wherein the wire is a superelastic wire.

65. The connector module of claim 64, wherein the superelastic wire of each of the pair of signal conductors is brazed to the middle portion of the signal conductor.

66. The connector module of claim 63, wherein:

the connector module further includes an electromagnetic shield at least partially surrounding the intermediate portion of the pair of signal conductors; and

wherein the electromagnetic shield defines less than 4.5mm around the first portion²The area of (a).

67. The connector module of claim 66, wherein the electromagnetic shield is stamped with outward protrusions adjacent the first end so as to counteract changes in impedance along the length associated with changes in the shape of the pair of signal conductors along the length of the pair of signal conductors.

68. The connector module of claim 67, wherein the electromagnetic shield member is further stamped with an inward projection adjacent a distal end of the first portion to reduce a difference between a fully mated impedance and a partially unmated impedance of the connector module.

69. The connector module of claim 68, wherein the electromagnetic shielding member comprises a conductive shield.

70. The connector module of claim 63, wherein the second portion comprises a superelastic wire having a width between 5 mils and 20 mils.

71. The electrical connector of claim 70, wherein the superelastic wire has a diameter of less than 12 mils.

72. The electrical connector of claim 71, wherein the superelastic wire is configured for insertion into a hole having a diameter less than or equal to 10 mils.

73. The electrical connector of claim 70 wherein the mating force of the superelastic wire is between 25gm and 45 gm.

74. The electrical connector of claim 70 wherein the mating force of the superelastic wire is between 30gm and 40 gm.

75. The connector module according to claim 63, wherein the second portion comprises a press-fit member.

76. The connector module according to claim 75, wherein the cross-section of the press-fit member has a serpentine shape.

77. An electrical connector comprising a plurality of connector modules according to claim 68, the plurality of connector modules being arranged in a plurality of parallel rows extending in a row direction.

78. The electrical connector as recited in claim 77, wherein the change in impedance between the fully mated configuration and the partially unmated configuration of the first portion is less than 5 ohms at 20 GHz.

79. The electrical connector as recited in claim 77, wherein the second portions of the connector modules of the plurality of connector modules comprise contact tails, the pairs of contact tails being arranged in a repeating pattern in a second plurality of rows extending along a first direction and being positioned along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, wherein:

a center-to-center spacing between adjacent pairs of contact tails in the first direction is less than or equal to 2.5 mm; and

a center-to-center spacing between adjacent pairs of contact tails in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction is less than or equal to 2.5 mm.

80. The electrical connector as recited in claim 77, wherein the second portions of the plurality of connector modules comprise contact tails, the pairs of contact tails being arranged in a repeating pattern in a second plurality of rows extending along a first direction and being positioned along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, wherein:

a center-to-center spacing between adjacent pairs of contact tails in the first direction is less than or equal to 2.4 mm; and

a center-to-center spacing between adjacent pairs of contact tails in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction is less than or equal to 2.4 mm.

81. The electrical connector of claim 77, wherein the first portions of each signal conductor pair of the plurality of connector modules are aligned along a first parallel line disposed at a 45 degree angle relative to the row direction.

82. The electrical connector as recited in claim 77, wherein the total impedance of each connector module is between 90 ohms and 100 ohms in the range of 45GHz to 50 GHz.

83. An extender module, comprising:

a pair of signal conductors, each signal conductor of the pair of signal conductors including a first portion at a first end and a second portion at a second end; and

an electromagnetic shield at least partially surrounding the pair of signal conductors,

wherein:

a first portion of the pair of signal conductors is configured as a mating portion and is positioned along a first line;

the second portion of the pair of signal conductors is configured to: compressed when inserted into the hole and positioned along a second line parallel to the first line.

84. An extender module according to claim 83, wherein the electromagnetic shield includes a conductive shield.

85. An extender module according to claim 83, wherein the second portion is "S" shaped in cross-section.

86. The extender module of claim 83, wherein the second portion is configured for insertion into an interface hole having a diameter of less than or equal to 20 mils.

87. An extender module according to claim 86, wherein the width of the second portion is between 6 and 20 mils.

88. The extender module of claim 83, wherein the second portion is configured for insertion into an interface hole having a diameter of less than or equal to 10 mils.

89. An extender module according to claim 87, wherein the width of the second portion is between 6 mils and 10 mils.

90. A connector, comprising:

an insulating portion and a plurality of signal conductors supported by the insulating portion, each of the plurality of signal conductors having a mating portion defining an interface hole; and

a plurality of extender modules according to claim 83, wherein the second portions of the signal conductors of the extender modules are inserted into the interface holes.

91. The connector of claim 89, wherein:

the plurality of extender modules further comprising a plurality of signal conductor pairs having pairs of second portions each aligned along a first parallel line;

the plurality of signal conductors further comprises a plurality of signal conductor pairs having pairs of intermediate portions and pairs of mating portions connected by transition regions;

the signal conductors in each signal conductor pair are aligned along the first parallel line at a first portion of the transition region adjacent the pair of mating portions; and

the signal conductors are aligned along second parallel lines at a second portion of the transition region adjacent the pair of intermediate portions, the second parallel lines disposed at a 45 degree angle relative to the first parallel lines.

92. A connector, comprising:

an insulating section;

a plurality of signal conductors held by the insulating portion;

a plurality of shielding members; and

wherein:

the plurality of signal conductors include elongated mating portions extending from the insulative portion;

the plurality of signal conductors includes a plurality of paired signal conductors arranged in a plurality of rows extending in a row direction;

the plurality of shield members at least partially surrounding the pairs of the plurality of pairs; and

the plurality of pairs of mating portions are separated along a first parallel line disposed at a 45 degree angle relative to the row direction.

93. The connector of claim 92, wherein the plurality of shield members comprise conductive shields.

94. The connector of claim 92, wherein:

the insulating portion includes a planar portion having a first surface and a second surface opposite the first surface;

the fitting portion extends in a direction perpendicular to the first surface;

the signal conductor also includes a tail extending through the second surface.

95. The connector of claim 94, wherein the contact tails are arranged in a repeating pattern in a second plurality of rows extending along a first direction and are positioned along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, wherein:

a center-to-center spacing between adjacent pairs of contact tails in the first direction is less than or equal to 5 mm; and

a center-to-center spacing between adjacent pairs of contact tails in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction is less than or equal to 5 mm.

96. The connector of claim 94, wherein the contact tails are arranged in a repeating pattern in a second plurality of rows extending along a first direction and are positioned along a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, wherein:

97. The connector of claim 94, wherein the contact tail is configured for insertion into a hole having a diameter less than or equal to 20 mils.

98. The connector of claim 97, wherein the contact tail has a width of between 6 mils and 20 mils.

99. The connector of claim 94, wherein the contact tail is configured for insertion into a hole having a diameter of less than or equal to 10 mils.

100. The connector of claim 97, wherein the contact tail has a width of between 6 mils and 10 mils.

101. The connector of claim 92, wherein:

the plurality of pairs of signal conductors further includes intermediate portions connected to the mating portions by transition regions;

the signal conductors of each pair of signal conductors are separated along the first parallel line at a first portion of the transition region adjacent the mating portion; and

the signal conductors are separated along a second parallel line parallel to the row direction at a second portion of the transition region adjacent the intermediate portion.